PAL: The Dark Chronicles
by BookPrincess32
Summary: His mother was an example to what would happen if he didn't gave in, but he never took the bait. Five years later, he was hailed as the Prince of PAL and their regional Champion. Two girls compete for his heart. Who would he choose, the Sinnoh Champion who he had always loved even if she did betray him, or the PAL Elite Leader who had been there for him ever since he was betrayed?
1. The Dark betrayal and five years later

**BP: And here is the long, anticipated chapter of the Ash x Pakura AV! Of course, I did warn you all that it is much darker than the original and is not for Cynthia fans. Why? Read on and find out! Don't flame me if you don't like it because I warned you ample times!**

 **Some content may be taken from the original. Just saying.**

 **Warning: Hunter x Hunter reference, Hunger Games reference, FNAF reference. Dark fic.**

Does anyone know what the PAL region is?

PAL stand for Pokémon Awakens Love. It's a region that supports all six regions known to the Pokémon World. Some people like to go to PAL because according to the media, it was very beautiful. It was very sunny during the spring and summer, many colourful flowers and lush green trees and grasses in the many natural habitats PAL has and all their water bodies are crystal blue, sparkling and clean. The bushes were also bursting with Berries for Pokémon to eat. The general environment a paradise for Pokémon; hence the name. If a trainer is caught abusing Pokémon within this region, it's an immediate death sentence, as PAL takes the welfare of Pokémon, whether wild or trainer, very seriously.

With this in mind, pollution is also considered a crime here. If you are caught tainting the environment in anyway, you'll be sent to jail. And let's just say landing yourself in PAL's Jail is never a pleasant thing…..it's much worse than the jails in other regions.

Trainers are expected to do everything they can to protect their own Pokémon, which is why all the trainers living in PAL have to learn how to fight in one way or another without their Pokémon. PAL contains all the Pokémon in the six regions, and also, sometimes, even Legandaries flock here to relax in this paradise.

Let's not forget those that protect and run PAL. Officer Jennies around the region are nothing compared to them. They are called "Hunters", people that have proven themselves through rigorous examination to be an elite member of humanity. If you can pass the Hunter Exam, or "Exam from Hell" as PAL people may call it (since out of 1,200 applicants, only about 10 pass and get their license, and some actually died in the Exam), you have many benefits, such as 95% of all public facilities can be used at no cost. Furthermore, all such services are provided at first class, unrivalled freedom to travel around the regions, almost no legal responsibility for murder, and so much more.

Most people from the G-Men members are actually Hunters provided by the PAL's Prince and Princess, which is why they are considered formidable. PAL is a principality, which means they were ruled by a Prince or Princess.

Of course, they have Contests and Pokémon Showcases too. However, the Contests are different. Instead of winning five Ribbons and participating in the Grand Festival for the Ribbon Cup, there are two types of contests: Normal and Super. Normal contests are also split into five categories: Cool, Beauty, Smart, Tough and Cute. There are also four ranks: Normal, Super, Hyper and Master.

As for Super Contests, It is also split into the five categories like the normal contests, but the rankings are as follows: Normal, Great, Ultra and Master. You need to win ribbons from Normal rank from a certain category in order to enter the next rank's contest in the same category. To be a Top Coordinator, once needs to win Master Rank in at least one category for either contest type.

And for Showcases, instead of winning three Princess Keys, they had to win five in order to earn the right to participate in the Master Class. Those who win the Master Class tournament would earn the title of PAL Duchess.

In order to earn the right to battle the Elite Four, they must win the Battle Frontier challenge. Their Battle Frontier works differently from other regions in terms of collecting symbols. There are only four symbols altogether, but it's cut into 12 pieces. So in order to get one whole symbol, one must defeat the group who holds the three pieces. The four pieces are called the Flame Symbol, Wind Symbol, Earth Symbol and Water Symbol. There is a special chip inside (placed by one of the PAL Elite) that would fix the three pieces to merge it into one piece without showing that it was once in three pieces once a challenger got all three pieces of one symbol. Due to the fact that the symbols are all cut differently, there is no way the pieces one group is holding can merge with the pieces that is held by another group.

After that, the trainers would register for the Trainer's Tournament, where the winner wins varying rewards and the right to challenge the Elite Four. However, every 25 years, there would be a Quarter Anniversary, where there would be a twist to make battles more exciting and challenging. Since it was there for 60 years, they had two Quarter Anniversaries. During their 25th year, the trainers were required to have a team specializing in one type when battling at all times. The Pokémon type they choose to specialize in must be registered when they register for the Trainer Tournament. The 50th one required the tournament choose their partners and form a tag team, as it was a tag battle, and there would be two winners as one tag team can win.

However, it's also has the most difficult Elite challenge (or be Champion) as the Elite Four of the PAL is also something else altogether. The PAL Elite Four is well-known to have the only members that specialize in two types instead of just one. Each member of the Elite Four are also Hunters, who had at least two stars in their field, and has unique abilities that make them stand out among the other regional Elites. Not only that, the members of the Elite Four are also famous for something else besides their Elite status. The Elite Four members themselves were very well-versed in the art of Mega Evolution. No one could even get past the first member of the Elite Four.

Only one person has managed to defeat all four members and be crowned Champion.

And that is Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum, better known as Ash Ketchum.

Said 21-year-old boy, or should I say man, since he was now of age, was currently in his high tech office (can be served as a meeting room too) which was complete with computerized talking walls, electronic maps that shows the entire PAL region and a giant rectangular table with control panels, doing his own paperwork. With him was a certain Pikachu, sitting on his shoulder and watching him work.

Ash smiled a little and patted his Pikachu, who let out a coo of contentment. A Lucario was with him as well, sitting next to him, watching the television screen at the far end of the room, which was currently showing a news reporter reporting on a man that was caught trying to smuggle out Pokémon Eggs from the local day-care center, and was caught by a Crime Hunter.

Ash had grown to be a very handsome man: The tips of his hair at the sides were no longer facing sideways, instead it was facing downwards, some were cut to ear length, while others were combed back and were touching his neck. He did not know how his birthmark vanished; he only remembered someone from Team Galactic had burnt his face, and his face was severely damaged, and remembered passing out, but when he woke up, his face was healed, but his birthmarks were gone.

Oh well. He did look better now without them anyway. His skin was now cream-coloured instead of tan (due to spending more time indoors now) and his eyes were usually somewhat half-closed, making him appear calmer and more aloof, which made him even better looking.

 **"They really should know better than to steal anything from our region, right, Master?"** Lucario tried to break the silence by making small talk.

Ash made a non-committal noise in his throat.

Pikachu sighed. He still remembered the incident five years ago…..

 _"Can't wait to see mum! Right Pikachu?" He asked his long-time partner and best friend._

 _"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu replied happily._

 _Ash smiled at Pikachu, as his house was in sight. He was about to open the door to announce his presence, when he heard voices. He furrowed his brow in confusion, as he recognized those voices._

 _He furrowed his brow in confusion, as he recognized those voices._

 _Brock Slate, former gym leader of Pewter City, Misty Waterflower, Cerulean City Gym Leader, May Maple, a Pokémon Co-ordinator from Hoenn, Max Maple, younger brother of May, Dawn Berlitz, Co-ordinator of Sinnoh and daughter of Johanna Berlitz, a former Top Co-ordinator, Iris, a girl who dreamed to be a Dragon Master someday, Cilan, one of the three Gym Leaders in the Striaton Gym and A-Class Connoisseur. His mother was in as well, and she seemed to be arguing with his friends. Wait, was that Trip's voice? Why would he be here as well?_

 _'Now why would they all be here at this moment?' Ash thought. They were supposed to be off on their own journey chasing their own dreams, not be in Pallet Town discussing whatever it is. He crept closer to listen to their conversation._

 _He immediately wished he hadn't done that._

 _"But, Mrs Ketchum, he made it to the Top 8 again!" Misty sneered. "He just wouldn't accept that he would never be the top, and we have to tell him!"_

 _"I agree with Misty. He's always using that rat during the battles that led to his loss." Brock said._

" _How dare you call my son an idiot?" Delia shouted. "He loves his Pokémon like they are his own family!"_

 _"Well, he's an idiot if he can win by just pure friendship." Iris said scathingly. "He doesn't know you have to have power as well!"_

 _"He was a complete dumbass to use Pikachu against powerhouses like that Latios in the Sinnoh League, although he did defeat that Latios." Dawn added in. "No wonder he lost all the Leagues he participated. Mrs Ketchum, just ask him to give up."_

 _"Yeah, he'll always be that kid who would never win against any of us." May agreed. "He lied to us, he said he'd be the best time and again, but it never happened."_

 _"Perhaps, Mrs. Ketchum, he might stay home with you, which is what you want right?" Max pleaded for Delia to see their way._

" _No, we're not!" said Mrs. Ketchum angrily. "I think my son has the potential to achieve his dreams if he keeps trying!"_

" _Mrs Ketchum, I think this is because you love your son, but it's time for him to open his eyes." Trip persuaded._

' _Thank you, mother.' Ash thought, smiling, despite feeling the sadness, betrayal, anger and hurt by what his friends said. He still had to hold back Pikachu as it wanted to just charge in and electrocute his friends on the spot with a Thunderbolt._

 _ **"Let me go, Ash!"**_ _Pikachu hissed._ _ **"I want to make them suffer for what they said."**_

" _No, we have something else to do." Ash replied. Clutching to his struggling Pikachu. He dashed off towards the Oak's Laboratory just as Delia shouted, "No, now get out. Mr. Mime, Psychic!" and caused the traitors to be thrown out of the house._

 _"Ash, my boy! How have you…" he trailed off in shock as he saw the look on Ash's face and the angry Pikachu._

 _"Ash, are you alright?" Gary asked from behind Professor Oak. Tracey nodded his concern_

 _Ash told the Oaks and Tracey everything he heard, and they were shocked. Tracey even dropped his sketchbook, appalled._

 _"How could they?" Tracey hissed. "How could they say such a thing?"_

 _Ash grimaced. "I know. That's why I'm going to get away and train- by myself with all my Pokémon. After I say goodbye to my mum, of course. She stood up for me, you know."_

 _Professor Oak smiled. "I'll arrange that."_

 _He took out what looked like a plain old watch. "It may look like a watch, but it has unlimited functions. It can call people, send messages, gives you information of any Pokémon that is scanned from all regions, gives you a map of where you are and how to get to your desired destination, it also has a list of moves the Pokémon you scan can learn, and also allows you to carry all your Pokémon at once. It's called the CommuniDex. Once you put it on, it's keyed to your DNA so only you can take it off. Not even someone disguised as you would be able to take it off. Also, it is waterproof so you can keep it on at all times even when you shower."_

 _"Thanks, Professor Oak." Ash gave a small smile._

 _"Ash, you have no idea what you are capable of." said Gary. "Go, and make sure to come back and show us what you're made of." This is one of the rare times he didn't say "Ashy-boy"._

 _Tracey smiled. "Yes, I know you can do it."_

 _Ash nodded, took all his Pokémon with him, only to smell something familiar- smoke from fire. He dashed outside, only to look in horror as Pallet Town was in flames. He and Pikachu looked at each other, before dashing towards his house, hoping his mother and Mimey were ok, but saw that the house was on fire. Quickly dashing through the door which has not caught fire, he entered, only to see that his mother dead, along with her Mimey. Blood was seen on her chest, indicating she was stabbed. However, there were other injuries on her body, indicating she put up a fight._

 _Standing over them were the traitors. Dawn's Quilava was out, indicating it was the one who started the fire, under Dawn's orders._

 _They spotted Ash, and Trip said, "Hopefully you'll disappear after using your mum as an example if you don't give up!" Max then quickly sent his Kirlia out to teleport them out._

" _Shoot, they got away." Ash hissed, as he got to his mother's body, and took the knife out from her chest. Only for the doors to open and the traitors were standing there with the police. To his surprise, Cynthia was there. By their viewpoint, it looked like Ash had killed his mother and just took the knife out._

" _There he is! He tried to kill us!" Trip pointed at Ash. Ash stared at them in shock, it was them, not him!_

" _Yeah, he killed his own mother when she tried to tell him to come home! We all saw it!" Iris shouted._

" _And when we tried to stop him, he tried to kill us!" Misty added._

" _I…I'm so sorry, guys. I never knew Ash was…" Cynthia was actually coming to Pallet Town to congratulate Ash on the Top 8, but it looked like Ash's personality was all a façade, and his friends helped her see his true colours._

" _Cynthia, please, you can't believe them over me, can you?" Ash pleaded._

 _Cynthia's eyes turned cold. "Arrest him, make sure he gets a life sentence! I won't associate with a criminal anymore!"_

 _Ash's blood run cold. Even Cynthia turned against him? During his anger and hurt, he did not know that his aura was accumulating, and it chose now to activate, and everyone wondered where he went. They realized he had dropped a destroyed fish lure bait given by Misty and one half of the Terracotta Ribbon won at a contest with May. (It was destroyed when his aura activated)_

 _He unknowingly teleported, taking his mother and Mr Mime's bodies with him and landed in an unknown place._

 _This place was later known as the region PAL._

"Pikachu!" Ash's sharp tone snapped Pikachu out of his reverie. "I've been calling you five times already. What are you thinking about?"

" **N-Nothing much."** Pikachu replied, sending out a nervous laughter. Ash could understand what any Pokémon is saying without telepathy as he had mastered how to use aura during those five years. It's also useful in combat as he can manifest his aura into abilities. However, this isn't unusual, as all Elite members knew how to use aura and understand Pokéspeech.

"Well, if you say so." Ash replied, going back to his work.

 **"You're spacing out again."** Lucario said to Pikachu. **"Thinking about what happened to Master?"**

Pikachu nodded.

 **"If you're thinking about the betrayal, at least some of their Pokémon didn't agree and abandoned their masters just for him, you know As well as the Legendries that followed him on his quest for revenge."** Lucario reminded him. **"Not to mention them finding out old friends and they agreed to join back here with us."**

 _"Where am I?" Ash asked, looking around at what looked like a royal ballroom with its lavish decorations._

 _"Welcome, Chosen One." said a voice. He turned to see a white equine resembling a centaur with a grey, vertically-striated underside. The striated pattern has similar recurrences on the underside of its mane, tail, and face. Its four pointed feet are tipped with gold hooves._

 _"Hello, Arceus." Ash greeted coolly._

 _Arceus sighed. His Chosen One is as cold as ever, thanks to what had happened to him a year ago. "Well, let's get down to business, shall we?" He nodded, and one by one, the other Legendries appeared before him. The Legendary Bird trio, the Mew duo, the Legendary Beasts trio, the Tower Duo, Celebi, the four Regis, the Eon duo, the Weather Trio, Jirachi, Deoxys, the Lake Guardians, the Creation Trio, the Lunar Duo, Manaphy, Heatran, Shaymin, Victini, the Swords of Justice, the Forces of Nature, the Tao Trio, Meloetta, Genesect, Mortality Duo, Zygarde, and finally, Diancie._

 _"Hi, Ash!" Latias flew over to him, and nuzzled him. Too bad Shaymin, Meloetta, Victini, Manaphy, Celebi and Mew had the same idea, and tackled him to the floor hugging him._

 _"Hi, Ash!" they chirped in unison. "Long time no see!"_

 _"Er….hi." Ash nodded to them. "Do you all need something?"_

 _"We've been watching you." said Darkrai. "After the betrayal by your friends and the woman you love and murder of your mother and being framed, we decided it's time for us to step in to help, to thank you for what you have done for us."_

 _"Saving us selflessly, putting your lives just for us…" Shaymin said._

 _Meloetta nodded. "Which is why we have decided to thank you for what you done. All of us. We have decided to support you in whatever you decide to do."_

 _"After seeing what your so-called friends did, we think it' the least we could do." said Mewtwo._

 _"Some of us have decided to join you in your quest, Ash." said Mew. "To thank you for all you have done."_

 _"What?" Ash exclaimed, showing some emotion. "But if you join up with me, it's dangerous. Who knows what those villainous teams such as Team Rocket would do if they find out you are with me? It sounds great and all, but you have duties to do, and I don't want it to be interrupted just for me. And you might have to participate in battles if you join with me. And I'm not going to let those villainous teams get their hands on you a second time!"_

 _The Legendries were astounded, as they knew he was really and truly trying to protect them from unwanted attention and forced control, even when he turned cold, it was clear he still cared for them._

 _"We understand, Chosen One." said Rayquaza. "But we want to travel the world, and who better than with you? We all know you'd take good care of us."_

 _"Since you treat Pokémon as friends, and you did us an amazing favour for all of us." said Celebi._

 _"Yeah, since you revived me from the Soul Dew using your aura, it has been absorbed in your body so it doesn't need guarding anymore." Latios finally spoke up. He was alive and reunited with Latias thanks to Ash._

 _"I even told Bianca and Lorenzo I'm going with you to see the world, and they agreed." said Latias._

 _"I even called your old Pokémon so that they'll come back to you." said Darkrai._

 _Ash knew he lost the battle, seeing he saw what the Pokémon were willing to do to follow him._

 _"For those who want to come, you can come, but I can't promise a pain-free journey, but I promise, I will do my best to protect all of you, and make sure I'll prove to everyone I'm a good trainer, and take responsibilities for my actions." For the first time, he smiled. The Legendaries cheered at this._

 _"Then, the ones who would be joining you will be Victini, Manaphy, Mew, Mewtwo Lugia, Ho-oh, Shaymin, Meloetta, Latias and Latios, Darkrai, Zekrom, Celebi, Jirachi, Giratina, Palkia and finally, Dialga." said Arceus. "You'll find their Pokéballs at your bedside once you wake up, along with your old friends."_

 _"Remember, Ash, we'll always be looking out for you."_

There was a knock on the door, and Ash curtly said, "Enter."

The door opened to reveal a woman in her early-twenties. She was tall and thin, wore black horn-rimmed glasses, and had her brown hair in a ponytail, with matching grey eyes. She was currently wearing a laboratory coat over her standard outfit, which was a white tank top and a pair of jeans. This was their manager, Phlox DeLaurentis, and also PAL's regional Professor, who studies everything, ranging from relationships between humans and Pokémon to the all-desired Mega Evolution.

"I'm sorry for the interruption, Champion Red." Phlox greeted.

"What is it this time, Phlox?" Ash sighed.

"Well, there is a request sent to us about the Champions Tournament…"

"The Champions Tournament?" Ash asked Phlox. "What's that?"

"Once every few years, the Champions of each region gather in Driftveil City in Unova and compete to see who is the strongest. It's like a get together for the Champions, you know. Only this time, it's to advertise the Pokémon World Championship that is to be held in our region, Ash." Their manager replied. "Which is why instead of the usual six-on-six, this one would be a three-on-three."

"So, what does this got to do with us?" Ash raised his eyebrow.

"They are short one player in the tournament so they requested us to send one of us down so they have enough competitors."

"Who are the competitors?" Ash asked nonchalantly.

"Steven, Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, Alder, Iris and Diantha." Phlox reported. "Alder may have lost his position as Champion to Iris, but he was the only one who once held the Champion status, which is why he is in too."

Ash narrowed his eyes. "Did you just say Iris?" He hissed.

"Yes, apparently she was recently crowned the Unova Champion after defeating Alder." Phlox answered, oblivious to Ash's change of tone. "So who should we send out into the Champions Tournament?"

Ash thought carefully, and said, "Rosaline will go to represent our region."

"Are you sure?" Phlox asked.

"Yes." Ash replied, waving the girl off. "Also, Rosaline will wear a disguise, because we must not reveal our identities until the Pokémon World Championship starts."

"Very well." Phlox nodded. "You know after that we need to head to Luonto City as after that, we'll have the opening ceremonies, right? You have your invitation I sent, right?"

"I get it. And do you mean this stupid letter?" He held out one that was addressed to him, which said:

 _Dear Red Satoshi,_

 _There is a tournament coming up called the Pokémon World Championship. It is held in the PAL Battle Arena to decide who the best among the best is, and I believe you are more than capable of winning the tournament. Your invitation has been attached to this message. Please hand your invitation in three days' time to the PAL Pokémon Centre near the Battle Arena if you wish to participate._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Phlox DeLaurentis_

 _Manager of the PAL Elite Four_

 _P.S: Glad to know you're still alive, Ash. You were incredibly hard to track down. Congrats on being the PAL Champion, and hope to see you there. By the way, all your so-called friends are there so stay calm and don't give in to your hate –Scott._

 _P.P.S: You better show up to the tournament or else I'm going to sic my men on you, and drag you there. You must participate in this tournament. Don't let those traitors get to you. –Charles Goodshow._

"Yes, I mean that stupid letter….hey! It's not stupid!" Phlox scowled. "You make sure you are there, or I'll drag you there myself with Charles."

Ash waved her off. "Whatever. Send a note through the Express Mail and tell them we are sending Rosaline as the final player."

Phlox sighed. "Well, just call the others here to make your final decision as to whether you'll attend the Champions Tournament, and I'll pop over and check on the transport arrangements."

Ash shrugged, as Phlox left the office.

" **Why did you send Rosaline, of all people?"** Pikachu asked. **"Even Jude is stronger than her because of his double type advantage."**

"Precisely. I want to give them, especially Iris a little reminder than not even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the PAL Elites, and even our weakest Elite may be well beyond the level of the other regional Elites." Ash answered darkly. He knew the Champions were the strongest. They were the ones who managed to shine among the other trainers, and are their region's very embodiment of hope.

Pikachu nodded, as Ash went to send a message to his other Elites.

* * *

"Nothing like a swim to take my mind off things." A boy with black hair and amber eyes commented. He dived off the dive board that is 10 meters above the swimming pool, and somersaulted into the pool, executing a beautiful jack-knife.

His Purrloin, already in the pool, splashed him, which cause him to shout, "Come back here, Purrloin!" and swim after her. They laughed as they splashed together in the pool.

This is Jude Harrison, a Water/Dark Specialist, and the first member of the Elite. He is a Sea Hunter, whose job is to hunt in seas for animals and treasures. He is the best at swimming among the four of them. He is currently wearing swimming trunks.

"Isn't this the life, Purrloin?" Jude asked, as he floated lazily in the pool.

" **Indeed."** Purrloin replied. Just then, Jude's CommuniDex rang, signalling a new message. Jude groaned, and pressed a button to read the message. He widened his eyes at the message.

"Change of plans. We're going back to the Plateau." He told Purrloin, as he dried himself, got dressed in one of his outfits which consists of blue shirt with black jacket and a black jeans and called out his Mantine, as Purrloin hopped onto his shoulder. "Mantine, fly us back to the Plateau." Mantine nodded, and they shot off towards the Plateau.

* * *

A girl with black hair with hot pink highlights, black eyes as dark as midnight, and wearing her usual outfit- red top with a magenta jacket and a white and pink skirt, with hot pink boots was searching a house with an approved search warrant, her Espeon helping her. Police were outside currently waiting for her instructions.

A criminal nicknamed Long John (due to his height) had just escaped from the police and is on the run. She suspected someone must've hidden him in their houses. Her fifth and current stop was Madeline Clark, his ex-girlfriend's house, though she insisted that she wished Long John would go to hell after they broke up.

She is Rosaline Pyra, the second member challengers have to face in the Elite, the Fire/Psychic specialist of the Elite Four. She is a Crime Hunter, whose job is to crack mysterious cases around the world.

It was nothing out of the ordinary- the bedroom was a single bed with single pillows, blanket, and the like. The bathroom also held all women's products, and the kitchen also did not hold anything ordinary. When she opened the closet, it also held women's clothing and coats. So the house was occupied by a single lady. Rosaline narrowed her eyes when she saw something.

"Are you done?" Madeline demanded. "Can you leave now?"

"Yes, I am done. And I know Long John has been hiding in this place." Rosaline smirked. "Arrest her for being an accomplice!"

"W-What?" Madeline stuttered. "But how?"

"Elementary. One of the coats I saw was too long for a girl your height, indicating the coat was worn by someone else who is much taller, in this case Long John." Rosaline replied, as the police came to take Madeline away.

Just then, her CommuniDex rang, and she read the print message sent by Ash.

"You guys wait for the criminal to show up, and notify me if he's arrested. For now, I'm go back to the Plateau." With that, she summoned her Shiny Moltres, let her Espeon climb on, and flew back to the Plateau.

* * *

Another boy, a year or two older than Ash, was assembling what looked like machine parts in a game console. He had brown hair and baby blue eyes. He was currently wearing a simple white T-shirt with a light blue vest, with dark brown jeans, complete with a belt which kept his standard six Pokéballs.

"If I put these together, the electrical current would flow continuously without burning out the minuscule copper wire." He used a drill to put the said machine parts in place. He was currently working on a game stimulator which he felt it would help the others greatly with their aura training. It was highly based on the horror game Five Nights at Freddy's.

This is Philip Robinson, a Steel/Electric Specialist, and the third member of the Elite challengers face. He is great at technology and inventing things. He was also the one that helped replicate the CommuniDex for the other members of the Elite at Ash's request. He is an Information Hunter, whose job is to go to great lengths to uncover rare or hidden bits of information. Common activities for Information Hunters like him include searching for rare books, hacking to retrieve protected data, and tracking down people who know desired facts.

"Now, if only I can find a way where we can use our aura to create a conscious so we can get into the game and play instead of using controllers, and make it so that when we get taken out, we'll simply return back to the real world instead of dying in real life…." Phillip knew the game training stimulator would be completed if he could just figure out a way, but his CommuniDex rang, alerting him to a message.

He opened the message, and widened his eyes.

"Ok, back to the Plateau I go!" He summoned his Skarmory and flew towards the Plateau.

* * *

A girl, who looked like she is in her late teens or early twenties, was chasing down a man. The man is running frantically for his life. He suddenly screeched to a stop as he ran into a dead end in a dark alley (although it was afternoon), and knew he was cornered.

"Spare me." He stuttered. How was he to know that the girl he was hitting on was a professional assassin?

The girl stood at the end of the alleyway. She had ebony black hair, complete with amethyst eyes and high cheekbones. Her soft pink lips were curled up in disdain, and her eyes were currently emotionless.

She is Pakura Ameyuri, the Ice/Fairy Specialist and the Leader of the Elite. She is currently wearing a black shirt complete with a white jacket, and a short white skirt leggings. The leggings just reached to her knees. She is a Blacklist Hunter, her job is to track down dangerous and wanted criminals, and kill them if she must. She fingered her revolver, sneering at the man.

"Now why should I spare you?" she replied. "The reports say you abuse Pokémon and even try to escape the law. Why do you think they sent me after you? I'm supposed to kill you. And of course, you men always can't resist a woman, which is your downfall."

The man looked around. "Well, at least no one hear would hear you scream." With that, he lunged at her, thinking he can overpower her, but she vanished, and reappeared, slamming his head against the wall. He struggled but her grip was too tight. She shook her head at his idiocy as she positioned the gun at the back of his head.

"Enjoy your time in hell." She smirked, as she pulled the trigger three times. Blood splattered all over the wall, and Pakura flung him aside, disgust on her face. She shook her head as she casually blew on her gun. "They really don't remember I never miss my target."

Her CommuniDex rang, and when she saw the message, she summoned her Togekiss and flew towards the Plateau.

* * *

"Well, it looks like we are going to have to leave earlier because Rosaline has to participate in the Champions Tournament which is going to be used to advertise the Pokémon World Championships." Ash was addressing his Pokémon. His old Pokémon consists of Pikachu, Venusaur, Charizard, Meganium, Fereligator, Blastoise, Typhlosion, Snorlax, Kingler, Muk, Heracross, Noctowl, Crawdaunt, Swellow, Pidgeot, Butterfree, Glalie, Garchomp, Seperior, Scrafty, Lapras, Gengar, Sceptile, Torterra, Emboar, Samurott, Krookodile, Leavanny, Gigalith, Seismitoad, Infernape, Floatzel, Unfezant, Gliscor, and Tauros.

And then, of course, there are his Legendaries.

There's also the new Pokémon he caught (read: he saved them, and they followed him until he agreed to catch them). Gardevoir, Lucario, Zororak, all the Eeveelutions, Roserade, Spiritomb, Mismagius, Clefable, Wigglytuff, Gyarados, Salamence, Togekiss, Xatu.

Another thing was, while travelling with Pakura, he had traded 29 of his Tauros in exchange for these Pokémon: Mightyena, Ninetales, Arcanine, Crobat, Elektross, Slaking, Greninja (shiny), Tyranitar, Kingdra, Honedge, Milotic, Metagross, Dusknoir, Gorluk, Beartic, Volcarona, Goodra, Dragonite, Flygon, Houndoom, Scyther, Absol, Aggron, Delphox, Chestnaught, Talonflame, Electrivire (shiny), Drapion, and finally, Blaziken (shiny). So you could tell how big of a team he has.

Last but not least, there's the defected Pokémon, who got attached to his Elite members as they spent time with them. May's Skitty, Glaceon, Blaziken, Dawn's Pachirisu, Piplup and Buneary. Skitty and Glaceon went to Pakura, Pachirisu went to Phillip, Piplup went to Jude, and Blaziken went to Rosaline. He kept Buneary, because it wants to be by Pikachu's side. He almost didn't keep those Pokémon.

 _"Hey Ash." Mewtwo said, interrupting his aura training._

 _"What is it, Mewtwo?" Ash sighed, deactivating his Aura Levitation and landing on the ground._

 _"Do you remember May's Skitty, Blaziken, Glaceon and Dawn's Pachirisu, Piplup and Buneary?" he asked. Ash darkened at the mention of his former friends' names._

 _"What about them?" he asked emotionlessly._

 _"Well, it seems like they do not agree with what the traitors said, and wished to join you and your friends in your quest when I told them your current location."_

 _"Yeah, sure." Ash said sarcastically. "And why would I believe them?"_

 _Mewtwo silently handed him the remains of the Pokéballs. "They smashed these themselves, saying they do not want to be with their trainers anymore."_

 _Ash knew Mewtwo is not lying, since he's a Legendary Psychic Pokémon and know what Pokémon are actually thinking._

 _"Fine, bring them in." he said. "I'll see what they have to say."_

 _When he teleported them back to him, the Pokémon immediately smiled, but their smiles dropped when they saw the look on Ash's face when he saw them._

" _You got one minute to talk." Ash said coldly._

 _ **"Hi Ash, it's good to see you again."**_ _Skitty said hesitantly._ _ **"We've been waiting for you to come and take us away…"**_

 _Glaceon quickly jumped in._ _ **"Yeah, although she won more Ribbons, because of her arrogance, she always lost! And we're tired of her boasting she'll be upgraded the Queen of Hoenn! I wished the day care worker give my egg to you, you know."**_

 _ **"I'm not going to let Pikachu out of my grasp this time!"**_ _Buneary declared._ _ **"He's more important to me than Dawn! Please say you'll let me see him! I swear, I didn't know Dawn would do this!"**_

 _ **"I spent a lot of time with May, but even I think she's changed, and not for the better, and especially what she did was horrible."**_ _Blaziken remarked, looking tentatively at Ash._

 _ **"And I'm not going to let her discriminate you. You are a great trainer. Why can't she see that?**_ _ **I've travelled with you, and I think you are good!"**_ _Piplup said._

 _Pachirisu hopped on Ash's shoulder._ _ **"Yeah, Dawn even needed help from you to catch me, and she repaid this by trying to stomp on your dreams, even committing a crime she got away with? How dare she?"**_

 _ **"Can we join you and your Elite, Ash?"**_ _they asked in unison._ _ **"Please?"**_

 _Ash knew they were telling the truth, using his psychic powers, and it's not just sweet talk. But he needed to be careful._

 _"One chance is all I give. I will not hesitate to release you the moment I find out any of you are still associated with them." The next moment, they pounced onto him for a group hug, thanking from for the chance._

"Hey, Ash!" Rosaline called out to him. "We're here!"

Ash went to the rooftop to greet the four members of his Elite, as they dismounted from their Pokémon.

"So what's going on?" Jude asked. "Are we set to go to Luonto City?"

"Yes, but the Champions Tournament is short one player, and we had to send one." Ash replied. "So we're making a short detour to Driftveil City to drop off the participant first, along with all of you, and Phlox would follow you there to help you keep to schedule."

"Who did you send?" Phillip asked.

"Rosaline. Because we won't be introduced until the Pokémon World Championships, so Rosaline would be wearing a disguise. You two make sure you're disguised too, so go pack a good disguise, and we'll get going." Ash instructed.

"You're not going?" Jude asked.

"No." Ash shook his head. He himself isn't going to the Champions Tournament because he had needed to hide since he was branded as a criminal by all the regions except PAL (The Zodiacs and the Elite members believed in his innocence). Although he highly doubted anyone can recognize him in his current appearance, he still thought it would be better if he's revealed during the Pokémon World Championships. Anything can happen during the Champions Tournament….such as their disguise blowing off when there is a strong flying type attack such as Hurricane being used.

The others nodded, and went to get ready, and Rosaline went to check on her Pokémon as she had to battle.

* * *

It was a relatively short ride (30 minutes by car) from their Plateau to the train station. They rarely travelled in a car, only one owning one was Pakura, and the only three who had driving licenses was Pakura, Ash and Jude. The station were fortunately, not swarming with reporters and they made their way to the doorway. The doors closed behind them and began to move at once.

Although Ash had travelled by train many times due to his Hunter duties, the speed always took his breath away. This train was a high speed model that average 250 miles an hour, and they would reach Driftveil City in less than 16 hours.

The train is also much fancier than even a first class plane. They were each given their own chambers that had a bedroom, a dressing area and a private bathroom with hot and cold running water. There were drawers filled with fine clothes, and Phlox told them for now, they could do whatever they want, wear whatever they want, as everything is at their disposal, and just meet for supper in an hour.

Ash peeled off his outfit, which consisted of a black t-shirt with a long-sleeved dark blue jacket and dark blue pants, complete with a necklace that had the eighth musical note attached around his neck, and took a hot shower. He sighed in relaxation, as all the paperwork really wore him off. Then again, as PAL's current Prince, he had to make sure his region is running well, and maintain connections. He dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark green shirt.

He retrieved his necklace, and remember how music had become important in his life. When he and Pakura were still travelling together, she would whistle or sing complicated songs whenever boredom befalls them. He admitted to himself that her voice was beautiful, high and clear and so filled with life, which is quite a contrast to her personality. Music had always calmed Ash down whenever he was on the verge of an emotional outburst, or in the middle from a nightmare (for early parts after the betrayal) at that time. He bought this necklace as a reminder. He sighed when he was reminded of Cynthia, as despite what she did, he is still in love with her.

Phlox came to collect him for supper, and he followed her through the narrow, rocking corridor into a dining room with polished panelled walls. There's a table where all the dishes are of course, highly breakable. The other Elites were sitting there waiting for them, and Ash noticed someone was missing.

"Where is Paku?" Ash asked.

"Last I checked, she wanted to take a nap." Phlox replied. She sounded irritated about her absence. Who wouldn't? She is the least cooperative Elite member among the five of them.

Ash just gave her the "ok…" look and sat down, ready for supper.

* * *

Ash staggered to another compartment after a while, the one that contains the newspapers and magazines, while his Pokémon went to sleep first. He thinks it's a good time as any to check up on the traitors via TV, to see what happened to them during the five years, besides Iris as she apparently became Unova Chmapion (but not for long, not if Rosaline had to say about it in the Champions Tournament). They did receive in invitation to participate in the Pokémon World Championship, so he figured he'd take a look at his victims….er, competition.

He turned on the TV, grabbed a magazine, and fetched a notebook. He listened, read and wrote down notes at the same time.

Apparently, Max had participated in the Ever Grande Conference and made it to the Top 4 and Runner-up for the Lily of the Valley Conference.

'Wonder if he'd win if he tried the second time, like me.' Ash had won all six of the Pokémon Leagues within three and a half years, participating in average two in one year (as they happen on different dates, he can register in them). How did he go from region to region so fast?

Simple. His teleportation allows him to teleport anywhere he wants, no matter the distance, as long as he had been to the place before (more energy is used the further the destination is however). As he couldn't use his Kanto to Unova Gym badges again since it was registered before thus making it invalid, Pakura kindly lent him her Badges to use, since despite collecting Badges during her journey, she had never participated in any Conferences.

Only for Kalos did he use his own Badges, for Kalos was the only region he never travelled before being uh…betrayed. So, Kalos was the only region he had won on first try (but it was commendable as by the time everyone knew of his winning streaks).

After winning Unova (the sixth League), he was torn between taking on one of the regional Elite challenge or taking Pakura's suggestion on taking the PAL Battle Frontier, winning their Trainer's Tournament and taking on PAL's Elite challenge, as PAL had no Champion yet, and that was when Pakura revealed herself to be their Leader. After a day of thinking, he decided to give up the regional Elite Four challenge, and decided to take on the PAL Elites, and after finally defeating Pakura, the championship crown was his (along with the title PAL Prince).

May continued to be known as the Princess of Hoenn, and apparently won all five Ribbons from Johto, participated in their Grand Festival, but lost in the Top 8. She also competed in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, but she lost in the semi-finals.

Her fellow Coordinator, Dawn, won the five Ribbons from Hoenn, and got Top 16 in the Hoenn Grand Festival, and also from Johto, but he knew for one she didn't win the Wallace Cup she announced she wanted to take part in, as the Aqua Ribbon wasn't part of the list of Ribbons she got in Johto, and secondly, the person who won that Aqua Ribbon was his very own Leader Pakura. She got in the Johto Grand Festival, but lose in the semi-finals.

Ash listened as the TV reported Cilan was offered to take an exam to become an S-Class Connoisseur. However, Cilan said due to the upcoming Pokémon World Championship he's participating in, he would take it after the competition was over.

Brock, of course, became a trophy winning Breeder, earning popularity in his own region. He is aiming to be a doctor as well, and to be known as a popular Breeder in the other regions as well, according to Kanto news, and reporters wish him the best of luck.

Misty herself was doing well too. She had joined her sisters into water performing and her Gym is now well-known due to the good battle they give as well as the exotic water performances given. She had discarded her old hairstyle and her hair was now at shoulder length, and she had combed it forward, with some spikes, which made her look better than he last saw her.

And how is Trip? Well, well, it looks like he had runner-up in the Indigo League Conference, and he tried Johto as well, but got to the Top 8.

"Looks like they all are doing well." Ash said to his Pokémon. "Wonder how long their good fortune would last once they arrive in PAL." Of course, he was out for revenge. But could he get revenge against Cynthia? Ash sighed, and put down his notebook.

Unbeknownst to him, someone was watching him from the glass panel in the door leading to his compartment.

'I knew it!' Pakura thought, watching Ash's movements with her eyes narrowed. 'He still loves that blonde slut!' She wondered how come nice people like her fiancé gets killed, but mean people like Cynthia never do. She doesn't understand what Ash sees in her. Sure, she is beautiful. But she only cared about her public image, as she just called the authorities on him instead of hearing him out. Doesn't he notice?

Pakura stalked back to her compartment, to go order some warm milk from an attendant. There is any number of them on the train, cooking on them, waiting on them, guarding them, as taking care of the passengers on the train is their job.

Meanwhile, Ash nodded. He had enough information for now, and it is time for him to retire for the day. After he brushed his teeth, he changed into a pair of pyjamas, and climbed into bed, being careful to avoid Pikachu and Lucario. The sheets were soft, silky fabric, and a thick comforter gave immediate warmth.

'Always giving the best hospitality, our region.' Ash thought, as he let the train rock him into oblivion.

* * *

Rosaline was disguised as a wandering trainer in her teens, as they knew that they would be reaching the station soon, and they had to say goodbye to Rosaline and Phlox (they would be watching the Champions Tournament in television in Luonto City). She was checking on her Pokemon as she was the one who was sent to represent their region. They stood in silence as the train sped on. As the tunnel went on and on, Phlox had to hold Rosaline's hand to soothe her nerves, and Rosaline gave her childhood friend a weak smile.

The train slowed and bright light filled the compartment as the train finally pulled into the station.

Phlox pulled out her schedule. "You all know after this tournament, we all have to hurry back to this train to Luonto City, right? We have to get there before the other guests do- we're the hosts after all!"

"Yeah, I get it." Rosaline replied.

"Why did they hold the Champions Tournament so close to the Pokémon World Championship?" Jude sighed.

Phlox shrugged.

"Wait, you're not going?" Phillip was surprised.

Pakura shook her head, indicating she wanted to accompany Ash there.

"Rosaline, it doesn't matter if you lose this, what we want is for Iris to make a bet on her Champion position, and if she loses, make her give it back to Alder." Phillip said.

Ash turned to his friends, surprised. What are they planning?

"Don't worry, she will be out of that position before she could even say 'Champion'." Rosaline said confidently, knowing why she didn't want Iris to remain as Champion.

"Swear it, on something you care about." Jude said.

"I swear it on my life." Rosaline promised.

"On your family's lives." Pakura insisted.

"On my family's lives." Rosaline nodded, as they left the train with Phlox, waving goodbye to Ash and Pakura.

Once the train doors closed, Ash turned to Pakura. "What was that about?" He gave her a suspicious look.

"I know you're mad at the four of us for planning this behind your back, but we agreed if she loses her position before the Pokémon World Championships, it'll be a huge psychological blow to her, which would be part of your revenge. Besides, we don't want that little girl to be in the VIP Box with us when we watch the Championship matches."

Ash nodded. Pakura had a point there.

"Well, least we won't be alone. I hear those….not so important trainers would be arriving in PAL via ship or plane as we speak. Since we do have a few hours to kill, we might as well watch the first match of the Champions Tournament." Ash said, as they both headed to the television room. They clicked on just in time to see Rosaline and Iris facing each other on the battlefield, only Rosaline was addressed by Fiery Phoenix, which was her nickname in PAL.

Iris looked different from when Ash remembered. Her long deep purple hair was now tied in a different way: Her hair was in one long ponytail that reaches to her butt, the sides were looped back and tied back, and the top of her hair above her ponytail was tied like iris blossoms.

She was also wearing a new outfit consisting of a white and carnation-pink dress with flowing ribbons and frilly ends, with very large and long sleeves with bright pink cuffs. She wears small golden crown upon her head with two emeralds encrusted within the triangle-shaped sides. On her feet she wore white sandals with a round green gem encrusted in the center of each shoe. Supposedly, it was royal garments, similar to that of a princess, but in Ash's opinion, Pakura looked much more than a princess than Iris ever could.

"You're not a Champion? Why did they even let you in?" Ash could sense a hint of condescension in Iris' voice.

"Well, I am a member of the PAL." Rosaline replied. "Tell you what, why don't we make the stakes up a little?"

"Like how?" Iris asked, snorting.

"If you win, I'll give you information on where to find Legendary Dragon Pokémon such as Latias or Latios in our region. Legendary Pokémon do flock to our region as well. I might even give up my Key Stone to you so you can use it to Mega Evolve your Pokémon."

Iris' eyes lit up with what Ash thought was greed. Information on locations of Legendary Dragon Pokémon and Rosaline's Key Stone? It's like her birthday and Christmas rolled into one.

"But if you lose, you give up your Champion position and give it back to Alder." Rosaline went on.

"I accept." Iris said. There was no way she can lose. She's the Champion!

"Alright, then, battle begin!" The referee announced.

* * *

"Dragonite, one more Earthquake!" Iris called out. Rosaline was using her second Pokémon (switched out) and hadn't lost any Pokémon, while Iris was down to her last Pokémon.

"Delphox, throw him off with Psychic before he can reach the ground and use Mystical Fire!" Rosaline called out. Delphox nodded, and did what he was told. When Dragonite was plunging towards the ground, Rosaline shouted, "Finish off with Giga Impact!"

Delphox hit a falling Dragonite, who flew and hit the wall behind Iris. He slid down with swirls in his eyes.

"And Dragonite is unable to battle! Fiery Phoenix is the winner!"

"Well, you lost, so from now on you're no longer the Unova Champion." Rosaline said.

"What? You can't do this!" Iris shouted.

"Yes, I can. Because you agreed to the bet, to give it up if you lost. And the audience here can vouch for it." Rosaline said, as everyone nodded, backing Rosaline, as she was telling the truth.

" **At least she isn't Champion anymore."** Lucario cheered.

* * *

I became the very best,

 _(Ash's Pikachu defeating Pakura's Sylveon and being crowned Champion)_

Like no one ever was.

 _(Ash succeeding his Hunter mission of infiltrating a base and taking the blueprint)_

I have to prove my innocence,

 _(Ash glaring at his former friends smirking down at him)_

And find out who I trust.

 _(Cynthia and Pakura both smiling at him)_

I will do what I must do,

 _(Ash facing off against a silhouette)_

Fighting for my rights.

 _(Ash defeating the traitors, and Cynthia was stepping back in horror)_

Each Elite to understand

 _(The PAL Elite Four standing in a pose)_

The power that they have

 _(Ash's Elite Four showing off their abilities)_

P-A-L! It's you and me

 _(Ash and Pikachu standing over a mountain that overlooked PAL. The wind was blowing in their faces, and they were smiling.)_

I know it's my destiny

 _(Ash accepting the task Arceus assigned to him)_

Elite Four, oh, you're my best friends

 _(Ash's Elite Four all nodding at him, saying that they got his back)_

In a world we must defend

 _(The Elite Four surrounded by the villainous teams' grunts, and they prepared their weapons to fight back)_

Chosen One, a heart so true

 _(The Legendaries all smiling at Ash)_

Our courage will pull us through

 _(Ash turning his back towards the regional Champions, shunning them, and walking away, while they stare in shock and sadness), (Jude looking out into the lake), (Phillip narrowing his eyes in anger), (Rosaline clutching to a ring she wore as a necklace), (Pakura standing at the background as she sadly watched Cynthia and Ash together, but someone handed her a knife. As soon as she touched the knife Pakura dispersed into petals. The blood stained knife dropped, unnoticed)_

You teach me and I'll teach you

 _(Pakura travelling with Ash in the Kalos region, teaching him weapon and hand-to-hand combat), (Ash sitting Pakura down one night telling her about battle strategies and combinations.)_

(P-A-L) Gotta get them all

 _(Ash listens impassively as the judge sentences the traitors to a life setnence)_

P-A-L!

 _(Ash running past everyone, and jumping towards the sky with Pikachu)_

* * *

By the time Rosaline was crowned the winner of the Champions Tournament, Ash and Pakura had reached their destination.

The Champion and Leader stepped into the Luonto City train station, and exited, making their way towards their destination just as the sun rose, and they were greeted by Gou, a League Official. In addition, he is a member of the Battle Frontier (holds one piece of the Earth Symbol) and a Zodiac from the Hunter's Association.

"Hello, Prince Red and Princess Pakura. I've been awaiting you." Gou said in his official business-like tone, bowing to them. "All of you are to register at the Pokémon Center for the tournament. The opening ceremonies and the tournament would start at 8pm. As for your rooms, instead of staying at the Plaza hotel with the other participants, you guys will be staying at a tower connected to the Battle Arena along with the other region Gym Leaders, Elite Fours and Champions. You'll be staying at the 14th floor, also the highest floor, and here are all the keys to the rooms available, so you can choose whatever room you want, and change rooms if you so wish to."

The Battle Arena had a tower designed exclusively for the Gym Leaders, Elite Four and the Champions of the regions, mainly to keep them safe away from the paparazzi. This will be their home until the tournament ends. Each region has two entire floors (except for PAL since they don't have Gym Leaders). They just simply step on an elevator and press the number the League Officials told them beforehand. Easy enough to remember.

The walls of the elevator were made of crystal so that they can watch the people on the ground floor shrink to ants as they shoot up into the air.

Each of them would be given their own rooms which consist of a bedroom, a dressing area, and private bathroom with hot and cold running water. There are also so many automatic gadgets that Ash was sure he won't have time to press all the buttons. The shower alone had a panel with more than a hundred options he can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils and massaging sponges. When a person stepped out on a mat, heaters come on that would blow dry their body. Instead of struggling with knots in wet hair, one can just place their hand on a box that sends a current through their scalp, untangling, parting, and drying their hair almost instantly.

There is also a closet full of clothing designed to fit any taste, the windows zoomed in and out on parts of the region at his command. Ash would only need to whisper a type of food from a gigantic menu into a mouthpiece and it appeared, hot and steamy, before him in less than a minute.

There is also a desk, TV and computer with fast Internet Connection. There is also a place where they can place all their Pokéballs.

Gou directed Ash to his room, and as Gou talked, Ash learnt that Gary, Paul, Tracey and Professor Oak are going to arrive soon, though only Gary and Paul are here to participate in the tournament. He told Ash he had duties, so he left Ash to his own devices.

"Come, let's go register first." Ash said to Pakura. She nodded, and she followed him to the Pokémon Center to register.

"Alright, good luck to both of you." Nurse Joy said, as they registered for the tournament. As they registered, Ash heard a voice he never want to hear again.

"Max, slow down, the tournament isn't going to go away." said a certain brunette co-ordinator.

"No, I've got to register quickly so I can get to my training and book the best rooms in the hotel." A bespectacled kid answered.

Ash and Pakura looked at each other. Pakura hastily took Pikachu off Ash's shoulder in case they recognize him using that Pikachu.

As they made their way back out, unfortunately, Max bumped into Ash.

"Hey! What do you bump into me for, apologize!" Max demanded. The girls behind him were drooling over his appearance.

'Yup, I was right. They don't recognize me.' Ash thought.

* * *

"There you are, guys." Charles nodded to Lance and his Johto Elites, who closed the door behind him. The meeting room was filled with all the other regional Elites and Champions, and Alder was in the meeting room, as he is the Champion again. "Now, before you go to Luonto City, I might as well tell you about the PAL Elite members, as you won't be seeing them until the opening ceremonies. I've just been sent the information by Phlox."

The Johto Elite nodded, as they sat down at the remaining seats.

"Now, I want you to throw away all you know about each other, because these Elites are different from a typical Elite Four member. They are all at least Champion-level. Nobody, and I mean no one, even got past the first member."

"Are they that powerful?" Sidney questioned.

"You know the person who won the Champions Tournament earlier against Iris, Cynthia and Steven? She's one of the weaker members." Charles said.

"You're kidding!" Cynthia shouted.

"No I am not. The rank list given to me says so, and Phlox never lies. You can imagine what power the stronger members will hold, especially the Champion." Charles answered, as the others shuddered at the implication.

"Are they users of Mega Evolution?" Diantha asked.

"Yes. According to Phlox, they are able to Mega Evolve more than once and more than one Pokémon in a single battle."

"Is that even possible?" Glacia was surprised.

"These people are also famous in other aspects, so you might know them, but of course, what you didn't know is that they are members of the PAL Elite." Charles crossed over, and turned on the screen, and a video of a boy in a quiz competition appeared, where he answered questions of various topics promptly, and taking away his opponent's time.

"Phillip Robinson, 23 years old. He is a genius inventor, and very good at making and playing games as well. He is also a game show contestant, always winning lots of money participating in them, and knows how to answer questions quickly without using any cheats. Winner of the Grand Slam three years ago, where he had competed against other game show winners as well. Very good strategist in battle, specializes in Electric and Steel Pokémon, and real tech-savvy." Charles said. "Nicknamed Genius Boy by many."

"Man, he had made a lot of stuff the world hasn't seen yet." Steven mumbled. He knew as he had longed to use some of Phillip's inventions that was featured in magazines or newspapers for his journey collecting stones, but it was apparently not on sale, and if they wanted to use, they had to negotiate with Phillip, but no one would find him in public outside an event.

"What is his Elite rank?" Drake asked.

"If I remember correctly, he is the second strongest member, behind the Leader." Charles said, as he clicked to the next video, which shows a girl in an author's convention. She was smiling and signing her books for her fans.

"Rosaline Pyra, 22 years old. She's a bestselling fantasy author and she is also a Mahou Shoujo manga writer and she's a Pokémon history expert. She illustrates her own books and designs her own book covers, as she is a famed artist as well, won fifteen art competitions straight in a row. Specializes in Fire and Psychic types, and of course, is the one who won the Champions Tournament earlier."

"Oh My God! It's her! I love her works!" Shauntal gushed. "She writes so well, I have every single one of her books and manga."

"So they sent her?" Alder asked.

"Yes, they did." Charles replied. "Nicknamed Fiery Phoenix, she will be a strong opponent."

"Her rank?" Cynthia asked evenly.

"Third, technically fourth, according to my list." Charles said.

'Impossible! How can I, one of the strongest Champion, lose to her?' Cynthia thought, clenching her fists.

"She is pretty cute." Siebold commented, as Charles moved on to the next person, who was walking down the red carpet wearing a tuxedo.

"Jude Harrison, right?" Lorelei recognized the boy.

"Yes, he's 25 years old, making him the oldest of the group." Charles explained.

"You're kidding." Aaron said.

"No I am not, he's a very famous actor and he does his own stunts unlike most other actors, winning many awards. He is also supermodel as well, a variety show host, and is also a famous Net Idol, having his own blog." The video changed to Jude telling one of the guests (an actress) in the show not to worry, as she had answered the question correctly, and the girl stood back to the trap door, only for it to open, and she fell into the sea of sponges. Jude chuckled, as he said, "I lied. You were wrong."

"He is also an S-Class Pokémon Connoisseur, which means he has his own shop in PAL. Needless to say, that shop has lots of business." Charles finished. "He is known as the Entertaining Socialite and the Merman by fans, which means he had two nicknames. Specializes in Water and Dark type Pokémon."

"Should've known he is a Water Master when we heard the Merman." Drasna said.

"His rank is fourth, and technically third." Charles said.

"Why did the PAL Elite swap Rosaline and Jude's ranks the other way round?" Lucian asked.

"Don't ask me, ask the Leader or the Champion." Charles shrugged, as he introduced the fourth member, who was shown making an elegant performance, presumably during a Pokémon Showcase.

"Wow, she's beautiful!" Will exclaimed, and the other guys had to agree, as they too were stunned by her beauty. Cynthia glared at the girl in the screen.

"Glad you think so. Pakura Ameyuri, 21 years old. She…."

"Oh My God! Pakura Ameyuri? She's a member of the Elite?" Wallace interrupted.

"Something wrong, Wallace?" Steven asked, as Charles nodded.

"I can't believe it!" Wallace exclaimed.

"What's wrong Wallace?" Steven practically shouted.

"Oh…sorry. You see, Pakura's a Top Coordinator just like me, but she's labelled as a legendary one."

"Like Dr. Abby?" Glacia asked. Dr. Abby was give the title of Legendary Coordinator in Hoenn for winning the region's Grand Festival in her first year with just her then-Skitty, but then retired right after that.

"No, Pakura's in a whole new level altogether. What made her stand out among the other Top Coordinators is that she is famous for winning six Grand Festivals in the six regions straight in a row, and having Master Rank victories in all categories, which makes it a total of 40 Ribbons she won in her region. Counting the Ribbons she has to win in order to enter the Grand Festival in the other regions that makes a total of at least 70 Ribbons she has won in a short span of six years, making her the best of the best. That's including the Aqua Ribbon she won at the Wallace Cup back in Johto. I watched her win without losing any points, not even in the finals!" Wallace explained to wide eyes.

"Wait a minute, she's also the former Kalos Queen. Won that title when she was only 12, making her the youngest winner ever. Had that title for three straight years before she gave up Pokémon Performing." Diantha said.

"Not exactly. She went on to participate in PAL Pokémon Showcase, and won the title of PAL Duchess. She is now the current PAL Duchess." Charles said.

"Is she…?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah, she is the Leader, and strongest among the Elite Four. She specializes in Fairy and Ice Pokémon, which means fans occasionally call her Dragon Slayer, but more often, they call her PAL's Princess, because she is the Princess of PAL.

"So PAL is a principality?" Bruno asked, and Charles nodded

"Wow…imagine the power she has in that region." Karen murmured.

"Yes, she will be a lethal opponent. And finally, the Champion." Charles said, as the video changed to a boy defeating Pakura's Sylveon with his Pikachu, and Pakura looking on with shock. When the winner looked up, he was revealed to have black hair that was combed down and cream-coloured skin, with calm brown eyes. "Red Satoshi, 20 years old. First person to be able to defeat all four of the members, which makes him their very first Champion. Had won all six Pokémon Leagues during the years, and was the one who shut down the villainous teams, earning him the title of 'Silent Hero'. He is also the current PAL Prince. Imagine the power he has, being able to defeat all four of the PAL Elite members. He is someone you should look out for."

"Wow, he's handsome!" Phoebe exclaimed.

Cynthia looked at Ash's face, and nodded in approval. He would be hers.

* * *

"This will be a three on three battle between Red Satoshi and Max Maple. Substitutions are not allowed. The match ends when one side is out of Pokémon. Trainers, choose your Pokémon." Brock announced.

It all started when Ash refused a battle and was about to leave for dinner with her, but Max started to hit on her once he saw how beautiful she was, and asked her out on a dinner date, and she said nothing, but look at him in disgust. Ash interrupted saying, he agreed to a battle. Max claimed he would win and take her out on a date after that, and here they are.

"Mightyena, I choose you!" Max said, as he sent out a Mightyena, who growled at Ash.

"Xatu, lend me your aura!" Ash chose the Psychic Mystic Pokémon.

"Dark Pokémon is immune to Psychic moves!" Max shouted. "Well, at least this will be easy."

Pakura frowned, but said nothing.

"You may have the first move." Ash offered.

"Mightyena, let's start this off with Toxic attack!" Max commanded.

"Take it." Ash said, and toxic badly poisoned Xatu.

"Perfect. Now use Crunch!" Max cried.

"Dodge and use Signal Beam!" The Signal Beam hit spot on, which pushed Mightyena back.

"Use Take Down!" Max shouted.

"Dodge by flying up and use Miracle Eye!" Ash told his Xatu.

Xatu flew up, and his eye sparkled as he stared at Mightyena.

"What kind of move is that? It didn't even affect my Mightyena one bit." Max sneered.

"Now use Psycho Shift!" Ash shouted out.

"It won't even affect my Mightyena one bit. Take it!" Max asked his Pokémon to take it to prove that it won't affect his Pokémon. Surprisingly, his Pokémon glowed purple, indicating it is badly poisoned.

"What? How?" he demanded.

"Miracle Eye removes a Dark-type Pokémon's immunity to Psychic-type attacks. Which means, your Mightyena can be attacked by Psychic moves now." Ash explained. "Surely a smart aleck like you would know."

"You…That's why you asked Xatu to take the Toxic attack!" Max accused.

Ash smirked, and nodded. "That's right."

"Mightyena, use Take Down, one more time!" Max snarled.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Ash countered.

There was a sudden powerful flash that made those watching the match cover their eyes. When the light died down, Mightyena was down with swirls in its eyes.

"Mightyena is unable to battle, Xatu wins!" Brock announced.

"Gallade, I choose you!" he sent out the same Ralts he had befriended only this time he had evolved to one of his final forms, Gallade.

"Gallade, use Power up Punch!" Max shouted.

"Dodge, and use Future Sight!" Ash countered.

"Close Combat!" Max shouted.

"Xatu, dodge it again." Ash said calmly.

Xatu used his wings to fly up high, avoiding Gallade's barrage of punches and kicks.

"Now, Xatu, Air Slash!"

"Dodge it!" Max shouted, as Gallade jumped to the side to avoid it.

Ash calmly said, "While he's dodging, use Air Slash, followed by Aerial Ace." This time, both attacks hit Gallade, and since it's part fighting, those moves were super effective, knocking him out.

"Gallade is unable to battle, Xatu wins. Max, send out your last Pokémon."

Max got angry, and sent out his last Pokémon. A Banette appeared.

"Banette, use Shadow Ball!" Max cried out. Banette created a black ball in front of its mouth and fires it at the Xatu. Just then, an attack came from the sky, hitting Benette.

"What the?" Max was surprised. "What happened?"

"Future sight happened. Now, use Ominous Wind to blow the Shadow Ball back to it!" Ash said.

"Dodge it, Banette!" Banette dodged it, but that was what Ash is waiting for.

"Xatu, get behind Banette using teleport and use Confuse Ray!" Ash said. It hit Banette dead on, and Banette is confused.

"Benette, use Shadow Ball again!" Due to confusing, Benette damaged itself.

"While it is confused, use Psyshock!" The Psyshock fainted the Banette instantly.

"Banette is unable to battle, Xatu wins!" Brock announced. "The winner of this match is Red Satoshi."

"Come on, let's go." Ash said to Pakura, and they left for the Tower, where delicious smells of their dinner were wafting from the dining room. They set up dinner for their Pokémon first, before sitting down for their dinner, which was chicken and chunks of oranges cooked in a creamy sauce laid on a bed of pearly white grain, mashed potatoes, rolls shaped like flowers, and for dessert, a pudding the colour of honey.

Ash and Pakura were eating dinner in the Tower together (their Pokémon were also eating at the living room), when his CommuniDex rang.

"So, how did it do?" Ash asked, the moment he answered. Pakura looked up from her mashed potatoes, listening to every word.

"I won the tournament. Might make a good start at our publicity to the world." Rosaline replied.

"You won, huh?" Ash said to Rosaline. "That's great!"

"Did anything happen while we were gone?" Jude asked Ash, as they ate their dinner in the train. Thank goodness the train also provided dinner for their Pokémon.

"Yeah, something did. Ran into one of the murderers of my mother." Ash spat angrily.

"What happened?" Phillip enquired.

"Challenged me to a battle, but I refused. We were about to leave when Max noticed Paku, and he started hitting on her, asking her out on a date, saying a girl like her needs a great, handsome, manly trainer like him to take care of her. The other male traitors also started drooling over her. Got mad at him hitting on one of my friends, so I decided to battle him. Won with only my Xatu, he was weak."

"Well, we can't argue that Pakura isn't one of the most stunning, sensuous people on the planet." Jude shrugged. "So, we shall see you when we reach?"

"Sure." Ash nodded. "We'll need to prepare for the opening ceremonies once you reach."

"We'll send you a message once we reach, alright?" Phillip said. "We'll meet at the prep place.

Ash nodded, and closed the CommuniDex.

"We'll meet our prep team in an hour's time." Ash informed Pakura. "Finish your dinner, and after our downtime, we will go to the Remake Section at Aquamarine's Style, where everyone would be prepared for the opening ceremonies."

* * *

When Pakura came out of the bathroom, much to her shock, her fiancé Shiki was lying on her bed, crunching a bag of potato chips she had bought a few days ago.

" _How's your day?"_ he asked. He had messy black hair with purple eyes. He need not wear glasses as he had enhanced eyesight but wears them anyway. Pakura had always believed that he was one of the most handsome men in the world—if not, the most handsome one. She was lucky to have a fiancé like him.

"Could've been worse." Pakura muttered, as she sat on the edge of the bed. "I could tell by his eyes when he walked past my room that he still loves that Cynthia woman, you know. After what I did to help him forget her. I even helped heal his face so he doesn't have to look like a burned bread." She sighed.

" _Hey, you still have me, right?"_ Shiki was smiling.

Pakura shrugged, but nodded. Shiki was the only person to whom she could pour out her sorrows. Shiki would often drop by for a chat. She supposed he used teleportation to get in to her room. She didn't mind. At least she knew someone was looking out for her.

" _So what are you going to do about it?"_ Shiki asked. _"He's your regional Champion."_

"What else can I do?" Pakura muttered. "Maybe help him and this Cynthia girl get together."

" _Make sense."_ Shiki nodded. _"Don't fall in love with him. Remember, you have me."_

"I'll never!" Pakura retorted.

" _Never is a very strong word, Paku."_ Shiki said knowingly.

"I have a feeling something would happen that has something to do with that Sinnoh Champion." Pakura sighed.

* * *

"Something wrong, Mewtwo?" Ash asked, as he prepared to take a quick shower before meeting his other Elites.

"Bad news, Ash. The five leaders, Giovanni, Maxie, Archie, Cyrus and Ghetsis escaped from prison, along with their most trusted guards this morning, including those from Team Flare. They are coming for you and your Elite. Tell them to stay on guard."

'Knew I should have killed them like I did Lysandre.' Ash thought. "Alright, got it."

"Oh and one more thing." Mewtwo said.

Ash looked up. "Yeah, what?"

"I just want to tell you to find out who you can truly trust, and be careful of the quiet one." With that, he returned to his Pokéball.

He understood the first, being wary of who he trusts, as the other regional guests are coming, and he knew most thought he was a criminal. But be careful of the quiet one? What does that mean?

Ash shrugged, before going for a shower. He'll think about it later.

 **BP: Hopefully this was better than the original…or maybe not. You see, I decided to make this fic much darker, and well….to be honest, I enjoyed writing this fic slightly more than the original, and is easier to write for now, but my friend likes the original more. Well, I'll see how you all think of the first chapter, as I am trying to make it as different as possible (plot wise and what happened in the story may be different as well.) I know it's bad, you don't have to tell me. Any questions, ask me though PM or review.**

 **And for those who are Cynthia fans, and Rayshipping fans, don't flame because I already warned you ample times in the original and before you read this AV.**

 **Gary and Paul will come in the next chapter, like the original, but perhaps, some things would be different.**

 **I know everyone is wondering how come Shiki is here despite being...well, no spoilers if you didn't read the original. I'll give you a hint: Look at his lines carefully. Did you notice anything different? So what do you think is going on here?**

 **Now there is only one question: Pairings for the three Elite (Rosaline, Jude and Phillip). You can pair them with anybody you like, now Kalos is included. I figured same pairings get boring after a while, so why not change it up?**

 **(I wonder if I should let Diantha in the PAL Elite group, and if yes, should it be Jude or Phillip. Hmm…..)**

 **Please review! And tell me what you think, and suggestions are welcome!**


	2. Tag battles Day 1, a new case, mysteries

**BP: Hi, everyone, thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows for the previous chapter. I hope it'd be as popular as the original, and I hope it would turn out as good as well.**

 **Note: The Pokémon moveset may be from an earlier generation. This time, May and Dawn are not in the tournament (because they are more of Contest than battle. I added them in the original because there weren't enough players for the Elites to crush, but with the Kalos people in, we can afford to discard them.)**

 **Note: I'm not going to put the battles from the original in here. I'm going to rewrite them all over again, and Ash will use completely different Pokémon in his battles, and most likely different opponents as well.**

Pakura sighed as she ran her fingers through the thick layer of bubbles in her tub. Cleaning her up was just the beginning of her prep for the opening ceremonies. Aquamarine, who was also her personal stylist, seamstress and dress designer, said, "Remake her to the Natural Beauty Base first. I'll work from there."

Natural Beauty Base turned out to be what a person looked like if they stepped out of bed looking flawless but natural. It meant her nails were perfectly shaped but not polished. Her hair was left alone and not styled. Her skin was smooth and clear but not painted. There wasn't any noticeable enhancements, but not that they need much of it, seeing Pakura's looks was already naturally flawless. Pakura wondered how long Rosaline would take to be in Natural Beauty Base once she arrived, as she got to go first since she was early.

As she rinsed the lather from her body, there was an attendant waiting with a towel. She patted herself dry, and dressed in a gown not unlike those from the hospitals (except it was pink in colour)

After that, she was sent to a little room with couches and magazines. She supposed it's the Makeover Base, where they give the make-up, manicures, hair-styling, etc. She got to read magazines and was even served cherry cola and provided a phone while her nails are being painted, and her hair being styled. Her face was relatively clear of makeup, only having lip gloss and eye shadow on.

Aquamarine entered with her dress, but she can't really see it since it's covered. "Close your eyes." she ordered.

Pakura obeyed, and she felt the silken inside as she slipped the dress over her body. She stepped into her flats, and Aquamarine was adjusting and fidgeting at her dress.

"Ok, now you can open your eyes." Aquamarine said.

Pakura did, and she was in a dress (which reaches to her knees) which was blue at the top half in addition to flowery lace, but pink at the hem, the bottom part of the dress was alternated between pinkish lavender and hot pink. At the middle of the part where top and bottom half of the dress were separated there was a ribbon shaped jewel made out of diamond, which sparkled like ice crystals. She was also wearing light blue platinum tiara that was intertwined into a heart shape in the middle. In the heart shaped gap, there was a smaller sapphire diamond heart in the middle. Attached to her back were wings that looked like it was made out of blue crystal to give an illusion of wings made out of ice. To finish the costume, her shoes were glittery pink and blue flats that sparkled in the light.

She went to meet the others where the chariots were located, and only Ash was there. He was wearing what will either be the most sensational or deadliest costume among the five of them. He was wearing what looked like medieval-looking black tunic with navy blue trim, a silver belt around his waist, and shiny black boots with a brown ring around the rim of the boots. His cape was simple as well. It was entirely black, giving him an unfathomable air about him. There was a sword to complete his outfit.

Ash looked up, and checked her outfit. "Aquamarine outdid herself this time." Ash commented.

"Thanks." Pakura replied. "Jin did a great job on you too."

Ash gave her a wry smile, just as the other three entered, already in their costumes.

Phillip was wearing a shiny and flashy silver outfit that caught the light around them, but it looked like there were his outfit was also electric bulb studded as what Ash thought was pearls was actually light sources, and there were lights emitting from those points. He was also wearing a headdress that mimicked the complex inner workings of electronics. The said headdress also have lights attached to it like his outfit. He was also wearing shiny silver boots. His hair was also falling out of the headdress, which made him look even better.

Jude was wearing a blue tunic that is tinted in black (complete with dark blue pants) that represented waves' appearance at night with starfish pins on his shoulder and a crown in the shape of a spiral seashell that looked to be decorated with seaweed and black pearls. He was wearing turquoise boots that was decorated with white pearls.

Last but not least, Rosaline was wearing what looked like a magenta and red two-layered gown that had ruffles and spikes at the edge of her sleeves, complete with a necklace that had a charm which resembled a crystal ball. She was wearing a magenta and red ballet flats with red 'spikes' at the side to resemble flames. On her hair was a headdress that seemed to be on fire, with flame shaped 'wings' protruding from its side.

They had planned to wear costumes that reflects their type specialty (except Ash, who wore a costume to reflect his nickname, since he doesn't have a type specialty, unlike his Elites), and make a good impression among the other participants and audience, since they are the Elite the other participants never heard of, and first impressions are always important. They planned to ride the chariot from the Remake Center through the City Circle back to the Battle Arena stage, where Rosaline, their emcee would give a welcoming speech.

The five took the time to admire one another's costumes.

"Wow, you all look great!" Phillip commented to them.

"You too, Phillip." Ash smiled at him.

"I'm envious." Rosaline was looking at Pakura's costume.

"You look amazing as well, don't worry." Jude said.

All their faces were relatively clear of makeup, just a bit of highlighting here and there. Probably to show their natural beauty.

"They are going to love us." said Phillip. The others (except Pakura) nodded in agreement.

They climbed into their own chariot, as every Elite has his or her own one which is pulled by 4 Rapidash. Jude is going to go first, followed by Rosaline, Phillip, Pakura and finally, Ash. Ash hid his Pikachu in the chariot, and also sent out his Ho-oh to fly behind him, since Ho-oh is going to light up the torch. When all are in position, the music played, and they started moving.

Meanwhile, the audience and participants were waiting to see what the PAL Elite is like. There were cameras all over the path on the way to the Battle Arena, and connected to the screen, where they will show the faces of the Elite. Some of the audience were seated around the courtyard that is on the way to the Battle Arena, for there were so many people coming to witness this ceremony, to see the Elite members themselves, there wasn't enough space in the Arena. Those from other regions didn't know anything about the PAL Elite, and they wanted to see what they looked like, and guess their type specialty from their costumes.

Even those in the VIP Box (mainly Gym Leaders, Elite Fours and Champions) are looking forward to the ceremony.

The doors finally opened, and the audience cheered as they saw the Elite. Meanwhile, the screen at the Battle Arena turned on as well.

"There they are! There they are! The members of the PAL Elite!" Charles Goodshow announced from the announcement box in the Battle Arena, when the screen came on. With him was Phlox, the manager of the PAL Elite. "First up, is Jude Harrison. He is making a splash in his entrance. Just hear the crowd." Sure enough the crowd was cheering when they saw Jude.

"Rosaline's outfit just reflects the fiery spirit in her. I am sure that the crowd is fired up just by looking at her." Phlox commented.

"Phillip looks just tech-savvy in his outfit. I like the lights in his costume. It reflects his specialty really well. An electrifying appearance, I must say." Charles said, as he watched Phillip's fans going crazy over his outfit.

"And there is the Leader of the Elite and PAL's Princess, Pakura. She looks just dazzling in her outfit, too beautiful for words." She listened as the males were whistling and even the male Gym Leaders, Elite Four members and Champions were stunned at her beauty.

"What's that? At the background?" Charles pointed.

Ash is riding on his chariot, his cape billowing behind him, looking expressionless. The wind was also blowing away at his fringe, exposing his handsome face. Behind him was a magnificent bird with feathers are predominantly gold and red, with yellow tail-feathers, a white underside, and green feathers at the tip of its wings.

"There's our Silent Hero and our very own PAL Prince, Champion Red!" Phlox said in ecstasy. "And is that a Ho-oh behind him?" The crowd's initial alarm quickly changed to shouts and cheers of "Champion Red!", "Silent Hero!", "Ho-oh!" Every head was turned their way, and the cameras were trained on them. Ash lifted his chin a bit higher, and gave a smile and waved at the audience, and everyone throws flowers at Ash's chariot. The number of roses was enough to completely cover the floor of his chariot.

"Champion Red! Champion Red! Champion Red!" His name was being called from all sides. Ash nodded and waved at them, which gained favour from the audience. Who knows? He might be able to use their support to his advantage against the traitors.

The chariots finally reached the Battle Arena, and everyone cheered as they saw the five chariots enter.

"Ho-oh, Sacred Fire in the torch!" Ash commanded. Ho-oh swept down, and released a gold-rose-coloured flame from its beak at the torch, igniting it, s the audience cheered at the spectacular move.

They finally stopped in front of the stage, and the five of them got off their chariots, Ash returning his Ho-oh with thanks, and walked towards the five seats reserved for them at the stage, in the midst of cheers.

"Now, we give the mic to the PAL's representative, the Entertaining Socialite, Jude Harrison!" Everyone clapped and cheered as the boy stood up, and made his way to the front.

"Thank you, Mr. Goodshow." Jude said. "Welcome, everyone, to the Pokémon World Championships. This year, we hold the tournament at the Pokémon's favourite paradise region, the PAL, short for Pokémon Awakens Love!" There were cheers and clapping from the participants. "Various participants come here from all regions, even the best from our regions participating, making this one of the largest tournaments and one of the most important one of the year!"

"I hope this tournament would be a great experience for each and every one of you, and hopefully maybe even get to know some friends! Do remember the rules and regulations, and make the best out of your time here. Do your best to win as well, because the winner would win a large sum of 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Pokedollars in cash, the title of strongest Pokémon Master in the entire world, a free apartment or villa in any of the regions you choose, the diamond and gold encrusted trophy hand made by Phillip Robinson. Phillip, our Genius Inventor, has also generously offered some of his very own inventions as part of the prize, which can be chosen by the winner."

Everyone cheered as Phillip was well-known for his amazing inventions, and he never gives them to anyone. From where he was standing, Phillip waved at the audience.

"For us, it's a great honour to be here as well. Due to the huge number of participants, we are to have preliminary tag battles for the first three days. Each pair are to use six Pokémon; three for each trainer. You will know your partner on the day the tournament starts. All of you have to win against at least two other pairs to be able to get in the tournament round, and have three chances to do so. Pairs who win two rounds are automatically in the top 128 people. I wish to see spectacular battles tomorrow, and hope to see cooperation between trainers should they be paired up together."

There was murmuring, as Jude went on, "The Tag Battles would last three days, but if you won both battles for the first two days, there would be no need to participate on the third day of tag battles. Which means, the third day of tag battles would a break for those who had won the first two days, since the third day would be another chance for the participants to get a spot in the Top 128. Pairs would be known tomorrow before tournament starts. And now, before we end, we shall go on to the exhibition match, where a regional Champion would be picked to go against one of us. Of course, who the Champion would go against would be random too." Jude stepped aside as Phlox came up with two boxes.

The Champions in the VIP Box tensed as Jude picked out a slip of paper from the box. Charles had mentioned a ten-minute exhibition match between one of them and one of the PAL Elite member as part of the opening ceremonies. It contained one of the Champions names and they hoped to be the one that was picked.

"And our lucky Champion is…..Kalos Champion Diantha!" Jude announced, and Diantha sat stunned, before she left the VIP Box to the stage. Jude offered the second box to her. "Now, pick your opponent from the other box!"

Diantha placed her hand, felt those slips, and eventually picked a random slip.

It was folded so she opened the slip. To her puzzlement, it only said, "C".

"Oh, I forgot to mention we only wrote our rankings. C stands for Champion, so you'll be facing our very own Champion Red!" Jude announced, as Ash stood up from his chair. Both of them walked to the battlefield to start their exhibition match.

"I hope to see an elegant performance from you as PAL's Champion, as I saw what your weaker members can do." Diantha said.

Ash silently nodded, and took out a Pokéball.

"The exhibition match would have a 10 minute time limit. Battle begin!" Jude announced.

"Show a magnificent performance to everyone!" Diantha said, as she threw her Pokéball to reveal a Gardevoir. Ash noted Gardevoir was wearing a Mega Stone.

"Espeon, lend me your aura." Ash chose the Sun Pokémon.

"You may make the first move." Diantha offered.

"Espeon, start by using Tackle." Ash commanded.

Diantha made eye contact with Gardevoir, and Gardevoir nimbly dodged that attack, and reappeared behind Espeon.

'Hmm, so she can command to dodge by mere eye contact, huh? I'll have to make her go on the offense to see if she can command moves as well.' Ash thought. "Espeon, Quick Attack!"

Diantha nodded, and Gardevoir kept dodging the Quick Attack. Ash gave a subtle nod and Espeon changed his tactics, and appeared where Gardeovir was dodging, and hit Gardevoir, sending it flying.

Diantha was surprised. She did not see that coming.

"Psybeam!" Ash called out.

"Shadow Ball!" Diantha countered.

'Ah ha, so she can't command moves after all.' Ash thought, as their attacks clashed. "Espeon, Iron Tail!" Espeon got to Gardevoir in an instant, and swung its metallic tail at Gardevoir, sending it backwards.

"Gardevoir, are you alright?" Diantha asked, concerned.

Gardevoir nodded, and Diantha said, "Alright, Moonblast!"

"Shadow Ball!" Ash countered. As both clashed once more, Ash told Espeon to use Toxic on Gardevoir, which poisoned the opponent.

'He's good.' Diantha thought. "Gardevoir, Signal Beam!"

"You use Signal Beam too!" Ash commanded. Both moves met in the middle and exploded, just as the timer ran out.

"Time up!" Jude announced. "The exhibition match ends in a draw!"

"Amazing. Not many people can overcome my bond with my Gardevoir." Diantha walked to Ash. "Is Espeon your partner?"

Ash shook his head. "You must be mistaking me for Rosaline." With that, he turned his back and walked away, leaving Diantha to wonder why is he behaving like that.

* * *

After the ceremonies, Ash showered and dressed in a navy blue shirt with black pants, before going out to join his fellow Elites. He noticed one person was missing.

"Where's Paku?" Ash asked his Elites.

"Last time I saw her, she said she wanted to be left alone, as usual." Rosaline said. "She did send out all her Pokémon to eat though." She jerked her head towards the living room, where all their Pokémon were eating. Ash also sent out all his Pokémon for dinner.

Jude rolled his eyes. "Seems to me she doesn't want to be near us or something. Why did they even install the food service in our rooms?" He was irritated by her absence, as the food service meant she can eat in the comfort of her own room, and who can blame him?

Ash internally sighed. He wanted to tell the Elites about the prison escape but he'll have to wait until breakfast since one Elite is missing.

"I'm sure she's just busy preparing for the Contest and the Pokémon Showcase our region organized." Ash replied. There was a contest alongside the tournament too. While the tournament rounds are held in the morning, contest rounds were held in the late afternoon.

It works like a Grand Festival in other regions. Whoever wins the contest will get a special PAL Ribbon that allows them to compete in any region's Grand Festival they want, no matter how many Ribbons the winner has won. Which meant that even if this Ribbon is the only one you have, you still can enter the Grand Festival in any region. The winner also earns the right to meet any of the Legendary Coordinators of their choice up close.

As for the Pokémon Showcase, it would be held once the Top 32 starts, and it would be held in the late afternoon, and the Pokémon Contest would be help in the early afternoon. Whoever won the Contest would have a special Princess Key that would earn them the right to enter the Master Class of any Pokémon Showcases, no matter if the winner didn't have enough Princess Keys to enter the Master Class.

Pakura was designated to be the judge for both of them, which made her rather busy.

"Well, I think it's been one exhausting day." Rosaline said. "So let's eat."

The dinner came in courses. A thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake. Although Ash was used to the high quality and quantity of food back in the Plateau, he couldn't help but slightly stuff himself, although unlike five years ago, he had much better eating etiquette.

As they finished the main course, Phillip started to talk to Ash.

"Hey, Ash?" Phillip asked tentatively.

"Hmm?" Ash looked up.

"What are you going to do if you're up against any of…them?" Phillip asked haltingly.

There was silence, as Ash answered coldly. "Their Pokémon would be in the Pokémon Center when I'm done. You guys too, if you are up against them, show them no mercy."

"Are you going to tell that to Pakura?" Jude asked, shuddering at Ash's tone. That tone usually meant he was out for blood.

"I don't have to." Ash replied. "And furthermore, they won't be leaving PAL alive."

There was silence, before Jude asked, "What are you going to do after supper, Ash?"

"I'll work on Celebi's Charge Beam. It's still a bit shaky."

"Yeah, I think you better work on that too." Jude shuddered. Nothing disconcerted Jude more than that uncontrolled Charge Beam, where he had an unpleasant experience involving one and him swimming in the pool some time back. Hopefully Celebi can control its Charge Beam soon.

* * *

Ash was petting the Time Travel Pokémon, Celebi. "It's ok if you can't master Charge Beam today. You just need practice." He said.

They were at a clearing near a forest, where Ash had been using some trees as target practice for Celebi's Charge Beam (he even used Lucario's Ice Punch to mark the spot Celebi was to aim the Charge Beam). So far, Celebi wasn't able to even control the move, as it always dispersed when it shot Charge Beam, and it was totally off target, and wrong tree as well. Currently, he is trying to comfort Celebi, who lowered its head and eyes sadly at the fact that it couldn't master Charge Beam despite being a Legendary.

 **"You really think so?"** Celebi shyly looked up to Ash.

Ash nodded. "Pikachu, why don't you show Celebi how to do it again?"

 **"As you wish."** Pikachu said. He formed an orb of yellow electricity in front of his mouth and it fired a beam of yellow electricity from the orb at a tree, frying it instantly. **"All you need to do is to concentrate on containing that orb, and aiming well. That's your priority."**

Celebi nodded, and tried again. This time, it was able to make a small orb.

 **"Very good Celebi! You're getting there! Try and shoot a beam out from the orb at that tree!"** Pikachu encouraged. Celebi obeyed, but it still missed, and the impact was rather small.

Ash clapped his hands, along with Pikachu and Lucario.

 **"Great attempt Celebi!"** Lucario smiled, as Ash nodded his approval.

Celebi rubbed its hand on the back of its head, as if it was embarrassed about the compliment. **"Thank you guys."**

 **"I think we better go to bed. Let's have an early night, we have to wake up early tomorrow."** Pikachu suggested.

Just then, Ash detected 2 people approaching. He returned Celebi secretly, and climbed up a tree with his Pikachu and Lucario that is set in a clump of other trees, offering concealment, so he can see exactly who they are while they can't see him and thanks to his physical enhancements (It isn't unusual as all Elite members possess physical enhancements) he will most likely be able to hear what the approaching pair are talking about.

"So, what did Charles tell you during the briefing?" a girl asked. They were walking through clearing towards the tree Ash was in.

Ash recognized this voice belonging to Clair, Leader of the Blackthorn Gym.

"Just information on the PAL Elites, and a bit of what they do." A man's voice replied. "After that we were taken on the PAL train here, like you." Ash recognized this voice to be Lance, the Johto Champion.

Ash knew about those trains. It was the same one that got them to PAL. It looked like Phlox, their manager, arranged for them to take the Gym Leaders, Elite Fours and the Champions from their regions to PAL. All of them most likely got to enjoy the best accommodations: gorgeous floral arrangements, delectable foods, and lush surroundings. The money everyone earned in PAL is high, especially Hunters, and thus they could afford all these. Usually, only Hunters can use it, but for this tournament Phlox apparently made an exception for their guests.

"After the briefing, Charles told me about the Legendary Dragon Duo we all admired. Apparently, this is their home region, but something happened and they disappeared five years ago. No one even knows where they are now." Lance informed his cousin.

'You got that right.' Ash thought inwardly. 'Not even I know where they are, what happened to them, or their real names for the matter. If you want to find them, good luck.' Pikachu and Lucario, picking up on Ash's thoughts, nodded.

"Speaking of dragons, how is the investigation Dragon Clan massacre and theft of some of their Pokémon?" Clair asked.

"It's going nowhere. I can't seem to find a clue whatsoever on the identity of the culprit or culprits." Lance sighed.

"I still wonder why would someone do such a thing, Lance?" Clair said. "To wipe out the entire Dragon Clan, and as if they aren't satisfied enough, they stole the Dragon Pokémon belonging to them and set our town in an eternal blizzard! Not even the Pokémon could clear the blizzard with their Abilities or moves for some weird reason.

Lance looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it, as Clair said, "I wonder who would set our home in an eternal blizzard and let all the Dragon Pokémon half-freeze to death?"

Ash raised his eyebrows. So, every single one of Blackthorn City's Dragon Clan Elders were wiped out? It must have been kept a secret from even the media, when he was travelling all the six regions with Pakura to compete in the Pokémon Leagues again and training in PAL (or being on the run depends on perspective), Pakura had always been reading the morning paper and was reading some of the articles she found interesting to him, and read about the gossips in magazines as well. He deduced the massacre must've happened between the time he ran into Clair in Unova and the time he became Champion, as if it had happened before he ran into Clair in Unova, her expression would've shown.

Judging by the looks on Pikachu's and Lucario's faces, this must be news to them too.

"Hopefully we can find whoever killed the Elders, or at least find somebody that can reverse this blizzard." Clair continued, as they got closer to Ash's tree.

"We can decide what to do with the culprit….when we find out who it is, that is." Lance muttered. They were directly under the tree Ash was at now.

"I'm sure this region has the answers we week." Clair replied. "We just need to open our eyes…perhaps the culprit is closer than we think….maybe it was the cursed child wanting revenge?"

"Er…." Lance said. Ash knew he wanted to express what he really thought, but for some reason, held back.

The pair of them walked past the tree, and Ash waited until they are out of sight before jumping down, somersaulting, and landing on the ground safely, followed closely by Pikachu and Lucario.

Ash wondered if the blizzard was caused by an aura user, since Clair mentioned the Pokémon couldn't even dispel it. That was highly likely. Should he tell them? Nah, this is their business, not his, so they should find out themselves. Besides, he already had a lot on his plate without worrying someone else's home being destroyed.

Had it been years before, he might probe around, ask prying questions, find clues, and charge in to help without thinking about the consequences or his life for the matter, but now, he realized sometimes leaving them alone to figure it out is better.

But then again, he should hunt the culprit and make them pay, not because he liked Lance and Clair or anything (in fact he suspected they, like many others, sided Cynthia and indirectly, the traitors), but he can't afford to have someone like that in their region. He should get rid of this person (read kill) before he or she does pose a danger to them, since Ash's intuition told him that whoever killed their Clan is in their region, and his intuition has never been wrong so far.

"I think things has just gone interesting." Ash gave a chilling smirk. "Come on, let's get to bed."

His Pokémon nodded, as they made it to the lobby, where Lucario pressed the elevator button, and they rode up all the way to the fourteenth floor. There's no one in the sitting room, which probably meant that his Elites are probably in their rooms retiring for the night, or doing their own stuff.

Ash changed into one of the pyjamas provided, and laid in the soft, silky bed, pondering about Mewtwo's words, and the conversation he heard tonight. It seemed to him that there are more mysteries to solve than he initially thought, not just about the five bosses that escaped from jail.

And somehow, he knew he'll be the one to solve every single one of those mysteries, and be the one to end the danger the mysteries would pose.

"What do you think, Pikachu?" he asked his ever faithful friend.

 **"I think there are a lot of mysteries going on around from the beginning."** Pikachu said. **"Just that we were too busy to notice until the tournament. I have a feeling they are all connected."**

Ash nodded in agreement. "You know, buddy, something tells us that before we can take on our dear five bosses, we must first figure out what exactly is going on inside before we can take on the outside."

 **"Yeah. Night, Ash."** Pikachu yawned.

'When I find out who is causing all these, I will kill that person.' and drifted off to a restless sleep.

* * *

Grey light was leaking through the windows when a rapping on the door roused him.

"Rise and shine, Ash!" Rosaline's voice was calling him to rise. "Today the start of the tournament!" She sounded cheerful and bubbly.

Ash sighed. How does she get so much energy in the early morning? Ash wondered what it must be like in her head, and what thoughts filled her waking hours. She was one of the three Elites (the other two being Jude and Phillip) that had loving families that believed in them that Ash himself ultimately lost thanks to the traitors.

Actually, now he thought of it, age wise, Rosaline was somewhere in the middle as she was older than Pakura and him, and younger than Jude and Phillip. Ash wondered if Rosaline would even leave home if not for the fact that she crossed paths with Pakura, who by that time, was already the Elite Leader. Ash remembered Rosaline only left home to follow Pakura on her journey, although Pakura never invited her along.

'It's nice to grow up in a loving family, but it's heart shattering when somebody takes it in front of your eyes.' Ash thought bitterly. 'Don't worry mum, I will avenge you.' Oh, how he can't wait for the day he gets his revenge on them.

"Wake up, Pikachu, Lucario." Ash mumbled, shaking his partner Pokémon awake. "Time for breakfast." As both of them stirred, he staggered to the bathroom, and refreshed himself. He dressed in his standard trainer's clothes, a casual black shirt with a navy blue jacket, his signature necklace, and jeans. He also put on his fingerless black gloves, where on the left glove, a Key Stone was imbedded into it.

Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and he entered the dining room. As soon as he did, he sent out all his Pokémon to have breakfast in the lounge.

Ash looked to his Elites. As usual, Pakura is missing, but her Pokémon's out here eating breakfast.

"Morning, Ash! Come have a seat!" said Phillip, waving him over. The moment he slid into his chair he was served an enormous platter of food. Eggs, ham, piles of fried potatoes. A tureen of fruit sat in ice to keep it chilled. The basket of rolls set would last a family for an entire week. There's elegant glasses of orange juice, cups of coffee, and cups of hot chocolate.

Ash took an empty plate, and filled it with a substantial amount of everything on the table, before starting to eat.

Over the eggs, Ash asked, "Is Paku awake yet?"

"She's the one that woke me up, so what do you think?" Rosaline asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"She used the connecting door to get to your room didn't she?" Jude enquired. There were two connecting doors for each pair of rooms. To gain access to two rooms, both of them need to open the connecting door in their own room. Jude's room was connected to Phillip's and Rosaline's to Pakura's. The room that was connected to Ash's room was currently unoccupied.

Only Rosaline couldn't get into Pakura's room because she always kept her connecting door locked, and only unlocked it briefly to wake Rosaline up, before going back to her room and locking it again. Apparently, she wanted to prevent Rosaline from going into her room via the connecting door.

"Yeah." Rosaline confirmed. "But she locked it again once I was awake. Told me to tell you all in NO circumstances are we to go into her room without permission from her." Rosaline said. "If not she won't hesitate to give us a piece of her mind." She looked rather hurt when she mentioned this. Why would Pakura prevent her access to her room? Hadn't they known each other before she became Elite? Didn't she trust her? The questions were racing though Rosaline's mind.

"By the way, what Pokémon are you guys going to use for the tag battle?" Phillip asked, deciding to make some small talk.

"Definitely not our Legendaries." Jude joked.

Phillip shot him a "You don't say?" look, and turned to Ash. "Hey, Ash, what Pokémon are you going to use?"

"For today, I'll go with Kingdra, Scyther and Jolteon." Ash replied. He looked at Phillip, as if to say, "And you?"

"I'll go with Heliolisk, Galvantula, and Excadrill." Phillip said. "Rosaline?"

"Slowking, Delphox, and Rapidash." Rosaline listed.

"And I'm going with Scrafty, Malamar and Cloyster." Jude informed them. "Whoever our partner is, I hope their type specialty cancels out at least one of our weaknesses."

"Yeah, I hope so too." Rosaline said. "Ash doesn't need to worry, since he has Pokémon of various types, and he doesn't have a type specialty."

Ash made a noise of agreement, just as the sound of a door opening can be heard, and Pakura emerged from her room, dressed and ready to go. She was wearing one of her trainer outfits- a white top (that showed her chest well) with a pink skirt, complete with black boots, a light pink jacket and a belt to hold her six Pokéballs. Her hair was loose, and put up in a hairband that had a ribbon attached to it.

"Morning, Paku." Ash greeted his Leader. Pakura nodded.

"What Pokémon are you going to use today?" Jude enquired.

Pakura looked around at her Pokémon, and pointed to Jynx, Flogres and Mawile.

"You're going to Mega Evolve your Mawile, aren't you?" Phillip voiced his suspicion. The PAL Elites were also well-known to use Mega Evolution during battles, and each of them had their Key Stones worn as part of their outfit, while their Pokémon had the appropriate Mega Stones. Jude's one was in the form of a bracelet, Rosaline's a ring, Pakura's one was a charm, and Phillip's one is a stickpin he attached to his shirt.

Once per battle, only a single Pokémon for each Trainer may Mega Evolve, while this is true, another thing about the PAL Elites are, their bonds with every single one of their Pokémon are so strong; they can Mega Evolve their Pokémon anytime, thus bypassing the rule.

Ash discovered this loophole shortly after he became Champion, thus he was the first person to Mega Evolve more than one Pokémon when he was battling.

Pakura simply shrugged at them.

"I have news for all of you." Ash said, since all his Elites are here now.

"Yeah, what?" Phillip sounded curious.

"According to Mewtwo, The five Leaders and their guards had escaped from jail." There were cries of shock from his Elites except Pakura, who stayed quiet. The Pokémon looked up, wondering what the chaos was about.

Ash's voice rose above the others. "Enough." It was amazing how cold and calm he sounded despite the situation.

They shut up upon hearing Ash's voice. "They will come for us, and I want you to have your guard up at all times. You never know when they will attack. That's all." He didn't mention Mewtwo's warning of being careful of the quiet one, because he still didn't know what it meant yet, and wanted to figure this out himself.

"Got it." They said in unison, as they finished their breakfast and joined Pakura in the lounge to start returning their Pokémon back to their Pokéballs (except for those intended to use for battle later), and went to place all of the Pokéballs into their respective rooms, before meeting back in the lounge.

When Ash went back to the lounge, his Elites were already ready and waiting for him. All of them had at least one Pokémon out of their Pokéballs, like Ash: Jude's was Purrloin, Rosaline's was her Espeon, Phillip's was Pachirisu (previously Dawn's), and Pakura's was her Sylveon and a Skitty (previously May's) that was riding on her shoulder and hidden in her hair.

"Come on, let's go." He said, and they rode down the elevator to the lobby, and walked out of the tower to the Arena.

When they arrived, it was empty. They must be the first ones to appear. Ash noticed a huge board full of headshots of people.

"The tag pairings must be out." Ash remarked, as he and his Elite got closer.

Ash scanned the board for his face, and found it somewhere near the top few rows. Next to his face was Pakura's.

"Looks like it's you and me." Ash remarked, as Pakura nodded.

Jude raised his eyebrows at his partner. It was a girl with blond hair and has light grey eyes with a fair complexion. She was also wearing a helmet.

"Korrina, Leader of the Shalour Gym in Kalos. Specializes in Fighting types." Pakura mumbled, startling them.

"How did you know?" Jude asked.

"She used to travel around and collect Gym Badges with her previous travelling companion before she started Coordinating. Did it only for fun though, since she never registered for any Conferences." Rosaline explained. "I also collected Badges when I was travelling with Pakura, but by that time, she already had all the Badges from Kanto to Kalos, so she started collecting Ribbons out of boredom."

"Really? What Badges do you have?" Phillip asked them.

"I have the Badges from Johto to Sinnoh." Rosaline answered.

"Ok, whatever, let's see what who are our other partners." Phillip interrupted.

"Hey, you got Malva." Rosaline commented to Phillip. "And I got…is that Erika?"

The others nodded when they looked.

"Hey, Red." A voice said. Ash turned to see two people smiling at him. The first person had brown spiky hair and black eyes. He was wearing a black polo T-shirt with a brown jacket. He was also wearing khaki pants. The second person had shoulder-length purple hair and black eyes, and he's wearing an outfit similar to his original outfit- a black shirt with a jacket that is predominantly black, but has ultramarine colour in the middle of the jacket and the wrist part of the jacket sleeves over it.

"Hello Gary, Paul." He greeted coolly.

"Hello, Ash." A third voice said. Ash looked up to see a boy with black hair and matching eyes wearing his usual green shirt and orange pants. He also wore an orange bandana around his forehead and was carrying his trademark sketchbook. Another was a late middle aged man with grey hair and black eyes. He is wearing his usual lab coat over his red shirt and fulvous pants.

"Tracey. Professor Oak." Ash nodded.

"Hey, Red. It's been a long while." Paul said. "And how is Pikachu?"

"Ask him." He jerked his thumb towards Pikachu, who gave the peace sign, and said, **"I've never been better!"**

"I heard you became the very first Champion of this region. Congratulations, I must say." Professor Oak complimented. "You were amazing in your battle against Princess Pakura. The footage you sent us was exciting, I was on the edge of my seat when I watched."

"Pikachu gets the credit." Ash replied smoothly.

 **"How modest, Ash."** Pikachu said.

"So who's your partner?" Gary asked the two of them.

"I got Olympia, Gym Leader of Anistar City." Paul replied. "How about you?"

Gary was muttering a few curses, before saying. "I got Trip. I'll just take out his Pokémon and win myself."

"Just make sure you send his Pokémon to the Emergency Ward." Ash said shortly.

"Noted." Gary said. "Oh yeah, speaking of which, I heard a Red Satoshi kicked Max Maple's ass last night during a mock battle, is that true?"

Ash nodded. He then told them the story about Max accidentally bumping into him when he and Pakura were trying to get out of the Pokémon Center as fast as possible to avoid conflict, but failed, as Max was hitting on Pakura, and he decided to battle him to he wouldn't harass her anymore, although he was tired since they were travelling on the train for a long time due to stopping at Driftveil City for the Champions Tournament and then back again.

"Well, that explains why Max was bitching about this handsome guy, and the girls were drooling over him." Paul shrugged. "Then they came up and tried to ask me if I know about this guy. Told them to go away, but they persisted, even asking me if I knew anything about Dawn's and May's missing Pokémon. Well, who knows what happened to them? I don't know and I don't care. So to make them go away, I had Gastrodon use Ice Beam on them. They became a human popsicle, only not as delicious." He concluded, chuckling.

"By the way, Ash, we got to tell you something." Professor Oak sounded nervous. Gary and Tracey suddenly had somewhat solemn expressions on their faces. though it was mixed with confusion as well. Paul had his usual stoic expression. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you earlier, and we wouldn't tell, but Paul insisted that you need to know." He glared at Paul who shot him a look that clearly told Professor Oak he has the right to know.

Ash raised his eyebrows.

"You see, during the years where you left Pallet Town…" Professor Oak hesitated.

"The residents of Pallet Town vanished one by one. Only Gary and Professor Oak are the ones left in Pallet Town." Paul finished bluntly. "Said to have vanished in the middle of the night."

That left Ash to think. Who would kidnap the residents of the Pallet Town?

Ash didn't bother to say anything, and simply got up and walked out. He was followed by Pikachu and Lucario, who are calling for him to wait up. A pair of amethyst eyes watched him leave.

'Of course they vanished. I was the one who took them away from Pallet Town, and confined them safe in the properties I own. I needed them to clear Ash's name, and they can't give witness accounts unless they are assured they are safe, and they are no longer safe in Pallet Town. The traitors must've threatened them.' The amethyst-eyed girl thought. She slipped out of the Battle Arena after him.

* * *

 **"Are you alright, Ash?"** Pikachu asked. They had finally reached the edge of a lake.

 **"You ok, Ash?"** Lucario enquired.

"I'm fine." Ash replied. "I just wonder who would take the residents away from their home. And why?"

Ash stared thoughtfully in the water.

'It's been five years….I wonder who took them.' Ash thought. 'Whatever it is, I hope they are ok.'

"Thinking about it won't do you any good." A voice said cuttingly.

Ash looked up, and was surprised to see his ever-stoic Leader, Pakura.

"What do you know, Paku?" Ash snapped. What does Pakura know anyway? She is the one who doesn't keep in contact with her family, and check how they are doing. What was more, she left them by choice and she never even wondered what happened to her family. He remembered the huge arguments she usually have with his other three Elites whenever this issue arises.

Pakura didn't seem fazed by his tone. "I know that when my entire family died, I certainly didn't dwell on it." Pakura answered blandly.

That startled Ash. Wait, what?

"Your whole family died?" Ash asked in shock, as he realized he and Pakura were similar in that aspect.

"When I was 15." Pakura said flatly.

"I don't get it. Why did you let the other Elites think you never kept in contact with them?" Ash frowned at her.

"Do you really think I need those idiots' sympathy that my family died while they still have theirs?" Pakura looked at him like it was obvious. "I don't like it when all people do is pity and say comforting words whenever they find what someone has been through. It's pathetic really, since words doesn't help the one who is suffering."

Seeing Ash's stunned look, she went up to him, and grabbed his collar. "You came so far, and are you going to give it all up and go looking for some missing residents in your hometown? No! You are going to stay here and get your revenge on those pigs that killed your mum, and prove your innocence!" She pushed Ash against the tree trunk, letting go of his collar, and Ash hit the tree, and slid down on the ground.

Pikachu and Lucario scampered to his side to check if he is ok.

"Besides, I know the residents are going to be fine. Maybe they have your willpower, and they are somewhere looking for you or trying to find their way home." Pakura assured him. 'I definitely know, because they have been asking me about you every time I go check on them.'

 **"Pakura's right, you know."** Pikachu said with conviction, once he confirmed Ash is fine. **"You are here, you came so far, and your main objective is to get revenge on those who killed your mother and framed you. Are you going to withdraw your revenge to look for them? No! Because you are here now, and you have to concentrate on your goal."**

 **"You have to show them what the results of your training are. I don't want your emotions to affect your performance, and when they find out it's you, they will mock you, and what is worse, the others may try to arrest you for the murder of your mother."** Lucario nodded, agreeing with Pikachu. **"You have to clear your name and get your revenge."**

" **That's right!"** Skitty added. **"You can't let them get away with what they did, this is your chance, as everyone is here!"** Under Pakura's care, Skitty had a mature, smart and serious side to her, in addition to excellent teamwork.

Ash looked to the Pokémon and Pakura each waiting for a reply from him, narrowed his eyes, and gave a single nod. "You're right. I'm sure they are somewhere, staying strong. I will show them. Thanks." The Pokémon and Pakura seemed satisfied by his answer.

 **"Good, now you know. And life goes on."** Pakura's Sylveon said. **"Let's go back to the Battle Arena."**

Ash nodded, and followed the others back to the Arena, which is by then crowded, as Trainers tried to get a glimpse of who are their partners on the board. Among them were the other regional Elites and Champions. He caught a glimpse of pink highlights in Rosaline's hair, and slowly made his way towards her.

"Red! Where were you?" Rosaline demanded. "Gary said you ran off, and we were so worried!"

"Fresh air." Ash waved her off. "Besides, Paku was with me. Where's Gary and Paul anyway?"

"They are already in the Arena taking a seat. They said they'll come look for you again after the matches end." Rosaline answered. "They said their battles are after lunch break." Due to the many matches, there's a lunch break in between for trainers to take a break. For those who finished their battles in the morning, they can choose not to return to watch the afternoon matches. Which is what Ash and his Elites are going to do exactly, since their battles are in the morning.

"Well, that explains why Pakura wasn't with us just now." Phillip muttered. "Come on, let's go get our seats."

* * *

Ash checked the schedule of the battles to take place back in the V.I.P Box. "Alright, looks like Phillip's battle is to be commenced first. Next would be me and Paku, Jude and finally Rosaline. And it looks like we're against Misty and Brock." He smirked at the last sentence. "By the way, good luck, Phillip."

"Thanks Ash." With that, he left the VIP Box with his Pachirisu, Malva and Viola.

 **"He'll be fine."** Pikachu assured Ash.

"Who said I was worried for Phillip?" He pointed at Phillip and Malva facing off against Viola and Iris. He was one hundred percent sure that Phillip and Malva would win, but he hoped the other pair can make it to the Top 128, because Iris is going to pay for what she did.

And no one is going to stop him.

 **"Oh, I get what you mean."** Lucario growled at the Iris girl. Just then, there were cheering, and Ash spotted the referee, Evan, walking to the middle of one side of the arena.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Evan asked, only to be answered by cheers. "Alright, from the Green side, we have Leader Viola, and former Champion Iris! And from the Red side, we have Elite Phillip and Elite Malva!" There were louder cheers for the latter pair, mainly for Phillip, their favourite genius.

To Ash, it did not seem like a battle, more like a one sided massacre. Being the third member of the PAL Elite, Phillip is powerful, yes, but to end the match with just his Excadrill (with Malva's help) in a mere 15 minutes is something else as well. It's almost as if their opponents didn't put up much of a fight.

Phillip yawned, as medics rushed in to bring Iris' Lapras (her third Pokémon) to the Emergency Ward. Lapras didn't even put up much of a fight at all, like the other two Pokémon she sent out (the other two also had a one-way trip to the Emergency Ward)

Finally, it was his and Pakura's turn.

"So, are you two going to go now?" Rosaline asked, when Phillip, Viola and Malva returned.

Ash and Pakura nodded. With that, they left the V.I.P Box together, and walked towards the entrance where they will have to enter the Arena from there.

"Lucario, I want you to watch our matches carefully, alright? There's always room for learning." Ash said.

 **"Got it, Ash."** Lucario nodded.

 **"Good luck, Ash."** Pikachu encouraged him.

"From the Green side, we have Leader Brock, and Leader Misty!" The two Gym Leaders walked out to the Arena waving to the audience.

"And from the Red side, we have Elite Pakura, PAL Princess and Champion Red, our Silent Hero!" The crowd cheered louder for the latter pair as they walked out and took their places at the marked spot. Misty gave Ash a sultry wink and Ash sneered.

"This will be a six-on-six Pokémon battle, as each Trainer can use three Pokémon. Switching Pokémon is allowed, and the first side to lose all six Pokémon loses." Evan explained. "So Trainers, you may send out your Pokémon."

"Starmie, I choose you!" Misty threw a Pokéball and out came Starmie.

"Steelix, come on out!" Brock summoned his Steelix.

"Let's go, Jynx!" Pakura sent out the Human Shape Pokémon.

"Scyther, lend me your aura!" Ash called out.

"Eww, eww! A bug!" Misty shrieked, ticking both Ash and Scyther off.

 **"Stop screaming or I'll give you something to scream about!"** Scyther muttered darkly.

 **"Looks like she didn't change."** Pikachu mumbled.

 **"I'm so going to humiliate her by sending her Pokémon to the Emergency Ward!"** Scyther snarled.

"You do that." Ash nodded.

"Battle begin!" Evan brought the red and green flags he has been holding downwards.

"Steelix, use Flash Cannon on Jynx!" Brock commanded.

"Starmie, use Scald on that bug!" Misty added.

Ash twitched. That bug?

"Jynx, let's use Safeguard." Pakura yawned. Jynx formed a shield around her and Scyther, effectively blocking both attacks. Once Safeguard was deactivated, Ash started his attack.

"Scyther, Signal Beam!" Ash commanded. The Signal Beam hit Starmie, which made it skid backwards.

"Starmie, get up!" Misty encouraged, or rather, demanded. Starmie slowly, but surely got up. "Now, use Swift!"

"Shadow Ball." Pakura called out. The Shadow Ball destroyed the Swift, and hit Starmie.

"Steelix, Stone Edge!" Brock yelled out.

"Scyther, X-Scissor." Ash countered, bored. The X-Scissor managed to slice all the stones in half. Before anyone could react, Ash said, "Now, use Brick Break!" The Brick Break was super effective, causing Steelix to be significantly damaged.

"Use Energy Ball, followed by Draining Kiss." Pakura coldly commanded. Jynx didn't let Starmie recover, and used a powerful Energy Ball, and Draining Kiss to drain Starmie's energy. "And now, Psychic." The Psychic spun and threw Starmie into Steelix.

"Starmie, use Rest!" Misty called out.

"Steelix, Rock Tomb and help cover Starmie!" Brock commanded.

"Scyther, Vacuum Wave!" Ash countered. The Vacuum Wave destroyed the Rock Tomb, and it went on to hit Steelix, who skidded backwards and hit Starmie.

"Jynx, Dream Eater." Pakura took the chance to drain some more of Starmie's energy. By the time Dream Eater was done, Starmie woke up.

"Starmie, Thunder Wave!" Misty shouted.

"Jynx, Psychic it to Steelix." Pakura countered. The Thunder Wave affected Steelix, who was now paralyzed.

Ash and Pakura looked at each other and nodded. It was time to end this.

"Scyther, Rock Smash and Brick Break!"

"Jynx, Psychic."

Scyther let out a barrage of Rock Smash and Brick Break, and Jynx used Psychic to throw Starmie against the wall, floor, you name it.

"Giga Impact." Ash commanded.

"Hyper Beam." Pakura called out.

There was an explosion as the two attacks connected with Starmie and Steelix respectively, and when the smoke cleared, both were down with swirls in their eyes, and severely injured.

As medics came in to get them to the Emergency Ward, Evan called out, "Starmie and Steelix are unable to battle. The winners are Jynx and Scyther. Green side, please choose out your next Pokémon."

Ash checked his CommuniDex's stopwatch function. "That didn't even last two minutes." His stopwatch said one minute and thirty-seven seconds, as Misty and Brock sent out Politoed and Marshtomp respectively.

Ash and Pakura then returned their Pokémon, after murmuring some words of thanks.

"It looks like Champion Red and Elite Pakura has decided to switch Pokémon. What would they send out next?" Ken wondered, as Ash and Pakura and sent out Jolteon and Florges respectively.

"Battle begin!" Evan said.

"Politoed, start things off with Bounce!" Misty cried out. Politoed bounced up high, and started to aim, ready to attack.

"Florges, Grassy Terrain." Pakura called out. The battlefield changed to grass with the move.

"Marshtomp, Earthquake." Brock commanded. To his surprise, the Earthquake was half the power it should be.

"What the?" Brock was puzzled at the turn of events.

Ash sighed. "Grassy Terrain cuts the power of Earthquake, Bulldoze, and Magnitude in half. Didn't you do your homework? Jolteon, use Thunder Wave." Jolteon used Thunder Wave just as Politoed used Bounce. Politoed fell to the ground, as it was now paralyzed and unable to execute the move.

"Politoed, Bubble Beam!" Misty called out.

"Jolteon, Pin Missile!" Ash countered. The Pin Missile overpowered Bubble Beam, and Politoed was hit by the move.

"Marshtomp, Hydro Pump!" Brock called out.

"Magical Leaf." Pakura said. The Magical Leaf cut through Hydro Pump, and the move damaged Marshtomp greatly because of two reasons: It is doubly weak to Grass, and the Grassy Terrain powered up the move of Grass-types.

"Now, Petal Blizzard." Pakura commanded, as Marshtomp was swept up in the petals. It fell to the ground, and now struggled to get up.

"Finish it. Solar Beam." Solar Beam hit Marshtomp just as it was getting up, and it was blasted in the air. It lasted for half a minute before the beam dissipated. Marshtomp fell from a great height and on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Marshtomp is unable to battle!" Evan declared, as medics came to check on Marshtomp, and declared it needing to be in the Emergency Ward.

Misty snarled, and shouted, "Use Hyper Voice on Florges!"

"Disarming Voice." Pakura countered. Both of them clashed, and it slowly overpowered the Hyper Voice. Pakura gave a single nod to Ash.

"Jolteon, full-power Thunder!" Ash shouted. Jolteon took this opportunity to shock Politoed for one whole minute, before stopping, and at that point, the Disarming Voice hit Politoed, letting it fall to the ground with swirls in its eyes. The medics came in again to send Politoed to the Emergency Ward.

"And Politoed is unable to battle! Green side, please send out your last Pokémon."

"How dare you! This should be against the rules." Misty shouted.

"The rule was as long as the Trainers do not mutilate or kill the Pokémon in any way, it isn't against the rules." Evan interrupted.

"Besides, you signed up for this tournament, and action packed battles is sure to have brutality." Pakura said calmly.

Misty glared at her, and sent out her Gyarados, while Brock chose his Crobat. Pakura switched to Mawile (who was wearing a Mega Stone), while Ash chose to remain with Jolteon.

"Battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Gyarados, Flamethrower!" Misty shouted.

"Dodge, and use Volt Switch!" Ash countered. The Volt Switch was super effective on Gyarados, and at the same time, switched Jolteon out with Kingdra.

'So that's why he stuck with Jolteon.' Pakura thought. "Mawile, let's use Stone Edge!"

"Crobat, Wing Attack!" Brock called out. The Wing Attack managed to repel Stone Edge.

"Gyarados, Twister!" Misty commanded.

"You use Twister too!" Ash countered. As both clashed (with Kingdra's Twister winning) Ash called for a Dragon Breath, and both Twisters and Dragon Breath hit Gyarados.

Meanwhile, Pakura called for a Fairy Wind, which blew Air Cutter away. Mawile then went in for a Thunder Punch, which was super-effective on Crobat. Before Brock could react, Crobat's wings were frozen, thanks to Ice Beam. Crobat struggled to break the ice with Steel Wing as the ice was difficult to break.

"Kingdra, use Draco Meteor!" Ash called out. Kingdra nodded, and shot an orange sphere in the air, and it rained down on both Crobat and Gyarados. Mawile was unaffected due to her typing.

When the attack ended, Ash and Pakura decided to finish it with Scald and Play Rough on Crobat and Gyarados respectively. Both of them did not stand a chance to dodge, and took the full hit. They fell down with swirls in their eyes.

"Gyarados and Crobat are unable to battle. The winners are Elite Pakura and Champion Red!" As usual, medics come in to check on the Pokémon again, as the other pair walked away.

* * *

"Oh my…" Drasna was looking at the battle with shock. "The PAL Champion and Leader are not one to be trifled with."

"That was brutal!" Aaron was watching the scene with astonishment written on his face. "All their Pokémon are being sent to the Emergency Ward! They didn't show any mercy at all."

"Looks like those Pokémon are out of battle for a while, and won't be able to compete tomorrow." Marlon said. "Hopefully those are not their best Pokémon."

"You only saw a little of what they can do." Jude remarked dryly.

"Are you serious?" Whitney asked Jude.

"If they didn't need to resort to Mega Evolution to win, there's no point for them to lie that they are easy to beat." Lucian said. "Didn't you see Pakura's Mawile wearing a Mega Stone, but she never used it?"

Meanwhile, a certain Sinnoh Champion thought she should get Red to train her Pokémon sometime.

The door to the VIP Box opened and Ash and Pakura entered.

"You were amazing, guys!" Rosaline cheered. "Did you see the looks on their faces when they lost?"

 **"You are amazing as usual."** Lucario said.

 **"I'll never forget the looks on their faces for the rest of our lives!"** Pikachu giggled.

"It's only the beginning, guys. It's only the beginning…." Ash said in a somewhat ominous tone, as Jude left with his Purrloin, followed by Korrina, Whitney and Winona.

* * *

Ash watched blankly as Jude also finished in 15 minutes flat with his Malamar alone, with all three of Korrina's Fighting Pokémon, which included resorting to Mega Evolving her Lucario. Ash shook his head. Whitney and Winona didn't really stand a chance against Jude and Korrina….Jude mainly. One-sided battles really gets boring after a while. Whitney started crying, and she was comforted by Winona.

"It's your turn, Rosaline." Ash said. Rosaline stood up, and left the VIP Box to the front of the entrance of the battlefield, her Espeon following behind, along with Maylene, Flannery and Erika.

Of course, due to Rosaline being the only Elite, she was the only one who never lost a Pokémon. He didn't have to say for the other three, who lost all their Pokémon (although Flannery's Pokémon is supposed to resist Rosaline's Pokémon's Fire-type moves, she was simply overpowered by Rosaline.)

After that, it was lunch break, and everyone in the VIP Box headed to the Tower for their long awaited lunch. Except one certain PAL Leader, who thought that the traitors shouldn't stay in the hotel room while they are in PAL, since they do not deserve living in those rooms. With that thought in mind, she made a detour, her Klefki's Pokéball in hand.

For the rest of them there are other problems. The number one fear and annoyance of all celebrities.

The paparazzi.

Now why are they the number one fear and annoyance? The reason is simple. They follow you around, taking your pictures without permission, asking incessant questions, and use all means to find any information about you, and post it on the newspaper or magazine, even if you didn't want that information out. Basically, with paparazzi around, you have zero privacy, because they will never give you that. Even if you wish for a quiet time with your family or a friend, they would never give you that.

While it was true their local paparazzi would leave them alone, and ask permission before they post, it doesn't apply to the other regional one, who somehow snuck into the plane or ship to PAL.

Which explains why all of them (sans Pakura) are running towards the Battle Tower, where they will be safe, chased after by paparazzi shouting questions to them (and even asking them out much to their horror and disgust), especially Ash, since he's considered to be the most mysterious (and one of the best looking) Elite, alongside Pakura. Pikachu is struggling to get a grip on Ash's shoulder, and Lucario is trying to catch up to the group.

Phillip fell behind to use his power to disable all the electronic devices carried by the paparazzi. As a genius inventor, one of his abilities was the capability to activate and deactivate various mechanisms, both electronic and biological as far as 10km radius. With this range, he can select specifically which devices to activate or deactivate, which in this case, he's selecting to deactivate the reporters' cameras and microphones.

While they were distracted trying to figure out what's wrong with their equipment, which meant they had slowed down their speed, the PAL Elites took a run for the doors, and they quickly closed the Tower doors in the paparazzi's faces with Ash's telekinesis.

They were sure they had shaken the reporters off at this point, since they had given up staking out the Tower, due to the fact that in the past, Pakura and the other three Elites would constantly water-balloon bomb them from above as a game. They have gotten soaked one too many times with Pakura's expert aim (she never missed her target).

"That was definitely close." Phillip gave a sigh of relief, clutching to his Pachirisu.

"Indeed." Jude muttered.

Pikachu is regaining his balance on Ash's shoulder, panting.

 **"The other region reporters must have snuck in to cover the Pokémon World Championship for whatever newspapers or magazines they are working for. And this is most likely the biggest event of the year, that's why they are chasing us, since you all are the host region's Elite Four.** " Lucario said.

"You could be right, Lucario." Rosaline mumbled. "Phillip, would you do a quick check upstairs if there's anything for us?"

Phillip nodded. "Yeah, sure." He went up the elevator alone, while the others waited downstairs.

(10 minutes later)

"What's taking him so long?" Ash frowned.

"I only said to do a quick check." Rosaline wondered.

"I think something happened to him. Let's go." Jude suggested.

They went up the elevator, and entered their quarters, only to find that it is empty, except for the huge pile of letters in the sitting room. Phillip's Pachirisu is sitting near the letters, looking at the pile in concern.

 **"Phillip, can you hear me?"** She asked.

"Phillip, where are you?" Rosaline shouted, since he had to be somewhere near the pile.

"Erm….guys, some help please?" A muffled voice was heard from under the pile of envelopes.

"He's buried under the pile of letters!" Jude covered his mouth to stifle his laughter.

"Very funny Jude." Phillip said from under the letters. "Just get me out of here!"

It took both Ash and Rosaline's telekinesis to get the pile of letters off Phillip, shortly after the elevator dinged and Pakura stepped in the quarters, and looked impassively at the pile of fan mail. They wondered where she had been all this time. They did not notice the four hotel keys that were protruding slightly out of her pocket.

Phillip got up from the carpet and dusted himself off. "As usual, we have fan mail."

* * *

"Cilan? Where did you place the hotel keys?" Iris demanded. All of them were standing outside their hotel rooms, locked out because their hotel keys were missing. They planned to go to their rooms and order Room Service for lunch.

"I was sure they were in my pocket." Cilan frowned, searching for the keys in each of his pockets, but to no avail.

"If we don't find the keys, the concierge is going to kick us out!" Max warned him. "Remember what he said?"

Cilan sighed. "Yes, I get it. He said that the keys themselves were expensive to make, and he's only handing them to us for free since we are tournament participants, but in the condition that if we lose one key, we either pay the cost for a replacement key, which we can't afford since the cost is high, or we get kicked out, and we'll have to live in the Pokémon Center rooms."

"I'm hungry." May whined, as Trip sighed, looking at his Xtransceiver for the time.

"Just hurry up and find the key! We're wasting time!" Misty yelled. She isn't in a particularly good mood since the battle with Red and Pakura.

"Ugh…if I wasn't kicked out as Champion, I would've had the Battle Tower room." Iris mumbled.

"Believe me, I wish we didn't opt out too." Brock added. Brock didn't say any more, as he himself was in a bad mood.

* * *

Pakura threw the last envelope to the ones with Phillip's name on it.

"Ok, I sorted them." She told the other Elites, pointing to the five different piles. "Look for the ones with your name on it."

"Thanks, Pakura. Er…whose is this?" Rosaline asked, pointing at one of the envelope piles that had actually reached the ceiling.

Pakura pointed to herself, indicating it was hers.

"Well, you are the most popular Elite." Jude replied, with a hint of envy in his voice.

"Isn't surprising, is it? After all, she's the Princess. She rules PAL." Rosaline said, earning herself a glare from Pakura.

"It's just a title." Pakura said darkly. After all, technically she was dethroned by Ash when she was defeated during the Elite challenge. Much to her chagrin, he allowed her to remain as Princess.

"Which makes you the face of the region….along with Ash, of course." Rosaline chirped. Pakura gave her a look that clearly told her to shut up or she'll really get it.

Ash spared them a glance, before going to the pile with his name on it, and started looking through his letters. There were a few creepy ones from fangirls proposing marriage but there were some sincere ones as well. Some also attached pictures of themselves along with the letters. A few made Ash throw it into the fire place immediately, as those pictures clearly showed they have no dignity.

Ash coughed, and continued on. Back at the Plateau, he made Pakura handle all his mail, while he did his paperwork, so it is the first time he's opening fan mail. But he daren't react the way he wanted to, for that would let the others know it was his first time. Said person must've known it too, for she shot him a sharp look, before turning back to her pile of fan mail. Ash noticed that her mail included job offers from modelling agencies, entertaining industries such as acting, and various nightclubs as well, which she didn't even look at. Sylveon was helping her straighten out her unwanted mail, while Skitty is pawing away at the envelopes.

"It's the usual stuff." Rosaline sighed. "You thought by now they'd know we don't do dates with fans or strangers." She watched her Espeon use Psychic to put the unwanted mail into a neat stack with mild interest.

"Well." Jude said, carrying the unwanted envelopes in his arms. "Let's throw the unwanted mail into the fireplace."

"Yeah, sure." Ash replied absent-mindedly. They placed the unwanted mail into the fireplace, and Ash nodded to Rosaline.

"You know what to do." He said, as she shot flames from her hands into the fireplace. To make sure the fire doesn't get too big or the smoke doesn't engulf them, Ash placed a psychic barrier in front of the fireplace.

"I lose my appetite looking skimming through all those pictures from fan mail." Jude sighed. "We should've eaten lunch before we did that."

"Not exactly." Phillip remarked dryly. "If we did, what we really think may end up all over the carpet."

Ash nodded in agreement, just as his Pokégear rang. He immediately picked it up.

"Hello?" Ash said.

"Hello, Prince Red." It was the Hunter Association's Chairman, William Anderson. "I have a case for you to solve."

"Can't Rosaline do that?" Ash grumbled.

"Well, this case is extremely difficult, as it hasn't been solved for six years, and we figure someone of your calibre could crack it." William said sheepishly.

"Alright, I'll come down now." Ash mumbled, as he closed the Pokégear.

"I'll be going to the Hunter's Association Headquarters. It looks like I have a new case." Ash said, as he left with Pikachu and Lucario. He made his way to the tall building, and then to William's office, which had a computer with a hologram keyboard, and some footage he assumed to be from security cameras.

William Anderson was a young man in his mid-twenties at best. He had brown hair and sapphire blue eyes, and spoke in a British accent. He was an accomplished Three-Star Poacher Hunter, and his job as a Hunter is to study Pokémon and protect them from poachers.

He looked up when Ash entered and said, "Hello Prince Red." He held out a hand for Ash to shake, which he accepted.

"Let's not make any small talk, William." Ash said curtly.

"Direct as usual." William replied smoothly. "Very well. Here." He handed Ash a brown file, which Ash opened. Inside contained the information that the Association knew about the Dragon Duo.

"And what do you want me to do?" Ash asked, looking at the information.

"The mission I'm about to give is to find out where their whereabouts are, find out why they disappeared, and if you can, the real names of the Dragon Duo members. After all, they are our previous rulers." William answered. "The other Crime Hunters and Lost Hunters had been trying this case during those six years, but they couldn't find any clue whatsoever."

Ash nodded, and took the file with him as he left. He needed some time to look over the files. But first, he had to feed his Pokémon.

Later, he was sitting in a café studying the file that he received from William, eating a piece of sandwich and a cup of iced chrysanthemum tea, while his Pokémon were chatting to each other about who-knows-what. He read that in addition to being the strongest Dragon Masters the world had ever seen, they were also extremely strong psychics, and is possibly stronger than even Rosaline.

Apparently, they debuted nine years ago, participating in the Trainers Tournament that they held every year. Every 25 years, it would be marked by a Quarter Anniversary, where it would call for a glorified version of the Tournament to make battles even more exciting. So far, there were two Quarter Anniversaries, the first requiring the trainers' teams to specialize in one Pokémon type only, and the second required for a tag team battle, and only one pair can win, which means there were two winners. That was the year that the Dragon Duo had won.

When it came to the Quarter Anniversary, they usually did the reading of the card (which contains the twist) months beforehand so that the trainers can prepare for the twist that would be happening if they had registered.

Their reign over the region lasted only three years before they suddenly vanished, leaving a note that the Dragon Princess left behind. Ash grimly noted that they didn't include the note itself, which meant he had to scrounge the library for old newspapers to find out more clues.

"Sorry to interrupt, but may I sit here?" A familiar voice asked.

Ash looked up, and nearly choked as he saw Cynthia smiling down at him. Pikachu glared at her, ready to shock her if he must. Lucario frowned, as he didn't like the way things are going.

He looked around, and sure enough, there was only one seat left- the one in front of him. On one hand, he still loved her, and this might be a good opportunity to be close to her without the incident getting in the way. On the other hand, however, he can't risk letting her know who he really is, or else she might turn him in….and maybe, not even Pakura can stop her. Hmm…..what to do, indeed?

Ash curtly nodded, and Cynthia's smile grew wider, as she sat across from him.

However, instead of starting on her food, Cynthia had decided to talk to him.

"So…what have you got there, Red?" Cynthia asked.

"A Top Secret Case." Ash mumbled shortly, reading the Dragon Prince's profile.

"Oh…" Cynthia said. "Part of your work?"

Ash nodded, not even looking up from the files, which annoyed Cynthia.

"So, you solve cases as part of your job?" Cynthia pressed on.

Ash didn't know what to say to her. He was a Contract Hunter, and he is a those types of Hunters who are constantly hired by corporations in order to do specific jobs, such as biological survey, ecological research or any other miscellaneous job, such as solving cases, like what he is doing right now.

"You can say that." Ash replied.

'I didn't know Red does cool jobs like these.' Cynthia thought. 'Is it a PAL trend?'

* * *

" _They have escaped, and they won't stop until they have hunted you down. You know it."_ Shiki frowned at Pakura, after he had told him of what Ash had said. The two of them were taking a nice walk in the forest, along with her Pokémon. _"They're coming to get you."_

Pakura frowned at him. Ash had taken down the villainous teams, and only the Bosses and some others escaped, what good are they without a team of minions under their command?

As if he read her mind, he said, _"You know what will happen if they capture you. It will all be over for the PAL Elites. And that includes Ash."_

Pakura stared at him. He seemed to know everything, and had never lied to her once. Pakura decided to trust his words, and made a mental note to plan her moves from there. After all, he had stayed with her through thick and thin. Sometimes, when he knew she wasn't in the mood to go out, he would come over to her room to chat with her instead. She had thought then that if there were only one blessing in her life, it was definitely having Shiki in her life.

"I think this is a great spot, Shiki…huh?" They had reached a beautiful garden, and in the middle, there was an Eevee dancing in the middle of a stage-like rock. Pakura had to applaud this Eevee's courage to pursue her love of dancing.

" _Do you really need another Eeveelution?"_ Shiki asked her, coming up next to her.

Pakura shook her head. She already had all the Eeveelutions she had wanted, so there isn't any point of getting another one. Her Sylveon and Skitty were looking at the dancing Eevee as well.

Pakura thought it might be a Pokemon that hatched recently from her Egg, since it was smaller than the normal Eevee.

" _Let's leave her alone."_ Shiki suggested, and Pakura nodded in agreement, as she chose to a spot that was full of flowers.

Pakura opened her basket to reveal beautifully decorated Poképuffs. Her Pokémon on hand happily took one and devoured them, as she left the basket on the rock. She opened her file, and proceeded to read about her next target.

The Eevee smelt the sweet smell of Poképuffs and approached the group, secretly taking one from the basket while their backs were turned. Shiki seemed to sense something, and turned, only to see Eevee taking a Poképuff.

" _Hey! What are you doing?"_ Shiki shouted at Eevee. Pakura closed her file, turned around, and Eevee scampered away in fright with the Poképuff the moment Pakura saw her. Pakura chased after it, since Eevee had stolen her Pokémon's dessert.

Pakura suddenly screeched to a stop when she realized she was running towards a cliff, but Eevee didn't realize this, and ran over the edge, sending her plummeting towards the ground way below. Pakura took out her gymnastic ribbon, and managed to grab Eevee with it, who by then, fainted from fright. She sighed as she carried the little Eevee back to their spot.

"Sorry, guys, we'll have to cut it short. Eevee is probably traumatized. Let's take her to the Pokémon Center." Her Pokémon nodded, as she closed the basket, carried Eeve in one arm while her file and basket in the other and walked with Shiki to the Pokémon Center. As she passed the café Ash was in, she saw Ash and Cynthia chatting with each other, and she swore Ash's expression had something soft to it, which made her nearly drop the unconscious Eevee.

Shiki gripped her hard by the arms. _"We did not see it."_

"What?" Pakura asked.

" _We didn't see that scene. We were so engrossed in our conversation on the way to the Pokémon Center, we did not look into that café window. Got it?"_

Pakura nodded, as they continued on their way. She did not notice Skitty and Sylveon looking at each other, and shaking their heads.

* * *

Later, Ash left the café after saying goodbye to Cynthia, ready to train his Pokémon. He really did enjoy talking to her again after six years. He wondered if he could convince her that he was innocent while not revealing his identity.

Ash went out into the garden that is leading to the forest.

 **"It's a nice day, isn't it?"** Lucario asked

 **"Definitely."** Pikachu replied, while Ash merely nodded. Just as they responded, he heard a rustling noise above them.

Ash suddenly stopped, and narrowed his eyes. "Did you hear that?" Despite the rustling noise being soft, he can hear it with his enhanced hearing.

Pikachu and Lucario nodded. Since Pokémon has more sensitive hearing than humans, they can detect the noise as well.

 **"Do you want to check it out?"** Pikachu asked Ash, who looked up, trying to see if there was anything causing the noise with his enhanced eyesight, but nothing so far.

 **"Can't hurt, can it?"** Lucario shrugged. **"Besides, we can defend ourselves, if there's any danger to the noise."**

"If you say so." Ash replied sceptically, as he walked to the tree, where he thought the noise was coming from, and started climbing up to investigate the source of the noise, Lucario waiting below the tree. Perhaps it was just a wild Pokémon, but since the tree he is currently climbing on doesn't offer much concealment, it's highly unlikely.

Halfway through the climb, something heavy dropped on Ash's free shoulder, and Ash lost his grip and fell to the ground. He used telekinesis to slow down his fall, and stopped a foot from the ground. He then let himself down slowly, and landed on his feet softly, Pikachu clinging on the back of his shirt for dear life, Lucario ran over to him to make sure he's ok.

'What landed on me?' Ash thought.

 **"Hi, Ash, long time no see."** A familiar voice greeted them.

Ash raised his eyebrows. He knew that voice! He looked to the speaker, and sure enough, a purple, simian Pokémon with two tails, each with a large, rounded hand with three red-tipped fingers was grinning widely at him.

 **"Ampibom! It's been a while."** Pikachu waved at him. Lucario raised his eyebrow.

 **"Oh, yeah, you two haven't been acquainted. Ambipom, this is Lucario. Lucario, this is our old friend from Hoenn and Sinnoh, Ambipom, before Ash traded her away to Dawn."** Lucario frowned at the last word. Isn't she one of the people who killed Ash's mother?

 **"So, what are you doing here, Ambipom?"** Lucario enquired.

 **"Oh, I'm done training with that O guy, and thought I'd go back to my trainer, but when I heard what she did to Ash all those years ago, I knew I can't stay with her, because who knows what else she would do. I went off to try to find you, and heard gossip about the upcoming tournament in this PAL region, so I thought I'd head here and try to find you. And now, here I am! You look even better than the last time I saw you, but I still recognized your scent."** Ambipom replied cheerfully. By her aura, Ash knew she wasn't lying. **"So, how are you doing, Ash?"**

"Fine." Ash replied. Ambipom was slightly taken aback at Ash's slightly cold tone.

" **Do you want to return to us, Ambipom?"** Pikachu asked eagerly, as he snatched an empty Pokéball from Ash's pocket.

 **"Definitely."** Ambipom jumped to the Pokéball, and pressed the capture button herself. She was sucked in, and the Pokéball dinged without even shaking.

"I guess I just caught an Ambipom?" Ash was looking at the Pokéball Pikachu was holding.

He let Ambipom out again.

 **"Ambipom, we're going for training, do you wanna come along?"** Lucario asked.

 **"Sure! I can't wait to test out my skills!"** Ambipom said.

* * *

"The mist is so thick! I can't see a thing!" Clair complained to her cousin.

Her cousin sighed in response, knowing they had walked too deep into the woods, and now they're lost.

"And it's really cold here!" Clair mumbled, as they wrapped their capes closer to them. Something caught their eye among the mist. It was an aerodynamic body and glass-like down feathers. The lower half of its body is red with jet-plane wings and fin-like feet. It has a blue triangular marking on its chest.

"It's a Latias!" Clair said, awestruck. It was the first time she had seen a Legendary Dragon Pokémon. "I'm going to catch it!" Forgetting about the cold, she started to follow Latias. They were led to a beautiful meadow where Latias had stopped. She did not notice that she was being followed, but another Pokémon did.

Clair sent out her Dragonite, and decided to start attacking, but they suddenly heard light footsteps, and they found themselves staring at a familiar Pokémon. The Pokémon had slender legs and dainty paws and has lilac fur. Its ears are large, and it has purple eyes with white pupils. There are tufts of fur near its eyes, and a small, red gem embedded in its forehead. It also has a thin, forked tail. At first they thought it was Rosaline's Espeon, but this Espeon is bigger in size.

The Espeon narrowed its eyes at them, standing in front of the Latias protectively. It said something to Latias, who flew off again. Clair ordered her Dragonite to chase after Latias, but it was held back by Espeon's Psychic.

Espeon yipped a few times, and started with a Swift attack.

"Dragonite, dodge and use Thunder Wave!" Clair called out. Surprisingly, Espeon let Thunder Wave hit. The reason why was shown when the next second, Dragonite was paralyzed.

"Espeon's Ability must be Magic Bounce!" Lance cried.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Rush!" Clair ordered. Espeon countered with a Giga Impact, which overpowered Dragon Rush, and hit Dragonite.

They did not see a girl rushing into the scene. The girl had long black hair cascaded down her back with bangs covering her eyes, so they could not tell her eye colour. On her head was a platinum tiara, decorated with various jewels, such as rubies, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, topaz, amethyst, and diamonds. She was wearing a red off the shoulder formal gown, with a pale red sash around her waist, and the sash was decorated with gold dragons.

The extra cloth in front of the bottom part of the gown was also decorated with draconic patterns. On her neck was a black choker with a gem embedded into it. When they examined carefully, a drawing of Latias and Latios could be seen at her choker, with the gem in between them.

The Dragon Princess placed a Mind Control on Clair, who was forced to return her Pokémon, before she got knocked out. Lance turned, and gasped, as he recognized the formal outfit. It was the Dragon Princess in person.

That was the last thing he saw before the Dragon Princess used her psychic powers to knock him out.

" **We should erase their memories starting from the point where they saw your Latias."** Espeon said to the Dragon Princess.

"Indeed. If not, Clair might go after my Latias again, and Lance might tell someone that he had seen me, and everyone would come looking for us. I can't afford for this to happen." With that, the Dragon Princess proceeded to erase their memories, and teleport them back to their rooms in the Tower.

With that job done, they headed back to the cave, where the Dragon Duo resided. There were defences up in the cave, such as only true Dragon masters can see the cave through the mist created by the Dragon Duo's combined powers. However, the mist also contained strong psychic power that compels anybody who can see it to ignore it.

The cave was much larger than it looks outside, and it could have passed for a living space, for it had a campfire in it, a sleeping bag, a table that looked like it was used for making herbs and storing first aid items on, another table that were laden with cakes and bread, a work table that had tools on it, a sewing station, a few target boards that had arrows and knives stuck to it, a well for water, an oven, some plants that grows berries and fruits, and various other necessities. Leaning to the side of the cave was a hot pink bicycle, and next to it was a black bow with a few sheaths of arrows. Other weapons were also scattered around the corner of the cave.

The Dragon Princess noted that the Dragon Prince isn't in; most likely out doing grocery shopping or perhaps training his Pokémon (but she suspected he must've used an illusion to disguise himself.)

She wished she hadn't chose Dragon Mastery. For being the best at Dragon Training, they would be forever remembered as the ones every Dragon user dreams of battling one day, and their final opponents at being the best Dragon Master in the world. If they found out what her original hometown is, the citizens currently living there would most likely try to get her to return to the hometown, so they can get the glory that the member of the Dragon Duo was born there.

Well, she won't stand for it. Not even their brightest stars, Clair and Lance, would stand a chance against her. For now, she would watch their movements. If they pose a threat to her, she would kill without hesitation.

That is a promise.

 **BP: Ok, a few explanations needs to be done.**

 **Ok, first of all, why I let Ash overhear the conversation between Lance and Clair is because Ash would be the one to find out who exactly killed the Dragon Clan members and set an eternal blizzard to Blackthorn City. (No, it's not like Elsa's winter in Frozen. It's a severe snowstorm, more like a blizzard than the normal winter, and this person can control his/her ice powers well, unlike Elsa. Why a blizzard? It's because Dragon is weak to ice.)**

 **I know you all are wondering why Ash is interacting with Cynthia instead of Pakura, it's because I am planning a plot where Pakura's depressive state progressively got worse as she watched him interacting with her, and knowing he is going to fall in love with her all over again despite all she did for him, and finds comfort in Shiki (There is a reason why his lines are all italic). Rest assured, this is an Ash x Pakura story, and he won't be dating Cynthia (leave it to the other story)**

 **Pakura's mental state will be worse in this story, and whether or not Ash is able to notice in time would be revealed in time remains to be seen.**

 **Since Ash is the main character, only his battles are shown in full. I might show glimpses of other battles, but other than that, it won't be shown.**

 **If you all are wondering where is JJM, well, I chose not to put them in this story (TBH, I didn't like them, because the stealing of various items like food, Pokémon, and Ash's Pikachu is getting annoying). I only put them in the original because mysterypink98 wanted them, and she liked them. However, they are getting less and less spotlight because I don't know how to write them in.**

 **Cynthia would probably pry to find out who Ash really is, but whether or not she succeeds remains to be seen.**

 **For those who have read the original, I purposely addressed her in that way so that those who never read it would be able to try and figure out what is going on and who is the one causing all those mysteries. (No spoilers please)**

 **Oh yeah, one more question: Should I put Diantha with Jude or Phillip? Please give me your opinions.**

 **P.S: If you had your way, who would you ship Rosaline with? (Telling me who you ship any of the Elites with would be welcome.)**

 **Please review!**


	3. Scarlet Anger, a message in the poem

**Thanks for all the reviews, favourites and follows so far! I apologize if I took some content from the original, as I needed the particular scene for plot purposes but I promise I'll try to make the AV as different from it as possible, possible even adding new scenes!**

 **The reason why Ash haven't used Pikachu and Lucario is because they are his strongest and would be used in the Finals, because he will make it to the final round (but whether he wins or not remains to be seen)**

 **And school is starting in two days, and I will be very busy, so I won't be updating every two weeks anymore.**

Phillip went up a flight of stairs that lead to the roof. There's a small dome-shaped room with a door to the outside. At night they can see the city lights from this garden, and they would glow like a vast field of Volbeat and Illumise. It was usually cool and windy over at this place, with fresh air as well. They had built a flower beds and potted trees all around the roof, and from there hung hundreds of wind chimes. On a windy night, the chimes were loud enough to drown out conversations, which is perfect for those who are trying not to be heard.

Pachirisu immediately went to examine the blossoms, while Phillip set down his equipment, and began working on his new invention that he was working on earlier before Ash called him back to the Plateau.

 **"Is that the game you were talking about?"** Pachirisu asked.

"Well…..I'm going to revamp a game stimulus, where it takes the player into an arena against twelve animatronics. You know, those animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy's series?" Phillip asked Pachirisu.

" **Oh, that notoriously horror game."** Pachirisu shuddered.

"Yeah, the arena is based on the second Five Nights at Freddy's game, but the office is based on the first, as they have doors." Phillip replied.

"What's the purpose of the game?" Pachirisu asked.

"Er…I think this would be a good training for our aura abilities you know, should we be in a situation where we do not have any weapons, and we have to depend on our aura abilities. The thing is, I'm trying to figure out a way that should the animatronics injure us, it won't be reflected on us once we are out of the game. But unfortunately, only aura users would be able to activate this device, since the device depends on aura to run." Phillip said.

"Sounds like a cool device." A female voice said.

"Why thank you, Pach-Argh!" Phillip turned to the source of the voice, thinking it was his Pokémon, only to see a very pretty woman with short light brown hair, designed in a somewhat star pattern, light blue eyes, and violet eye shadow. She was wearing her usual outfit that consisted a white choker and white long-sleeved blazer with lapels that possess large buttons and also a small collar, the blazer finished with three petal-like ends and the sleeves has two golden lines on the cuffs. There were two lacy objects on the back of her outfit that resemble cloud-like wings that is likely to be connected to the blazer. She also wore a simple white shirt with two golden lines near the end of the shirt. Finishing her fairy-like attire, she wore short white pants and white low high heel boots. She was carrying her usual pink purse and on her neck was the Mega Charm.

"You sure are easy to scare, Phillip." Diantha said, amused.

"Diantha." Phillip said curtly, as he started to pack up his stuff.

"Wait, I thought you're going to continue on your invention?" Diantha was surprised that Phillip was packing.

"Not if you are here. I'll just go back to my room." Phillip mumbled. Being a shy type, he isn't really one to initiate conversations, and preferred to keep to himself, although he's still considered more approachable and talkative than Pakura (and Ash) is.

"But, I think your invention is great." Diantha tried again, but before she could say anything more, Phillip had ran out the rooftop door down the stairs. Diantha stood there, stunned.

'What's with him?' Diantha thought.

* * *

Ash squeezed through a secret tunnel located near the forest, and it lead him to a huge forest clearing. It's a place Pakura had showed him years ago, when they were trying to hide from the press soon after he was crowned Champion (she was also targeted because she was his final opponent). Since then, it had been a good place to train his Pokémon in private.

Ash silently used his telekinesis to throw all his Pokéballs up into the air, and they all opened, revealing all his Pokémon.

 _"Papa!"_ Manaphy gave Ash a bear hug as soon as he was released. Ash non-verbally hugged him back, not saying anything.

 _"Papa, where's Mama?"_ Manaphy asked. Ash knew he was referring to the Elite Leader, Pakura, as Manaphy got attached to her over the six years, and loved her cooking very much, including the Poképuffs Ash often fed his Pokémon. It also didn't hurt that whenever Manaphy got injured in battle, Ash would send him to Pakura to heal him up, as one of her abilities is to heal Pokémon.

Ash remembered Pakura told him about the time where she first met Manaphy. He remembered that day, Manaphy let himself out of the Pokéball just to interact with Pakura.

 _Pakura was serving up some Poképuffs for her own Pokémon, when a blue blur slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. Fortunately, she managed to close the basket so that her Poképuffs do not fall out._

" _What hit me?" Pakura mumbled, looking down at whatever was on her stomach. It was a small, blue, aquatic Pokémon with stubby feet and club-like arms that are longer than its body. It has a red gem on its chest and a yellow dot below the gem. Its onion-shaped head has a pair of long blue antennae, which have small spheres on the ends. Its irises are dark blue with yellow sclera, and there are two yellow dots of "eyelash" markings extending from the eyes._

" _Do you want a Poképuff too?" Pakura asked, offering it one, who took a bite, and gave a cry of delight at the delicious taste._

" _Who are you?" Pakura took out her CommuniDex, and the CommuniDex said, "Manaphy, the Seafaring Pokémon. Born on a cold seafloor, it will swim great distances to return to its birthplace. Water makes up 80% of its body. This Pokémon is easily affected by its environment. It is also born with a wondrous power that lets it bond with any kind of Pokémon."_

" _Mama." Manaphy was saying while smiling down at her._

 _Pakura was puzzled, until she remembered a story that Ash told her regarding a Manaphy hatching from an Egg, and how it had called May mama, and the adventures that entails. She knew Ash had Legendaries, but he had never allowed her to see them, and she had never pried, respecting his privacy._

 _And now she is seeing one with her own eyes._

" _So….Ash is your papa?" Pakura asked, and Manaphy nodded._

" _And May is your mama, right?" Pakura added, as she started to get up, but holding Manaphy so he doesn't fall off._

" _No, she is not mama. You are mama." Manaphy replied. As Pakura carried Manaphy in her arms, Manaphy happily snuggled in her embrace._

" _I love you, mama." Manaphy said._

 _Pakura was about to give a funny look to Manaphy, as since when can baby Pokémon change their declaration of who is their parent, but softened when she saw Manaphy looking cutely at her._

" _I love you too, Manaphy." Pakura mumbled, as Manaphy cooed._

"Mama is busy getting ready for a Contest. What do you say we go see her after our training?" Ash proposed. Manaphy nodded in excitement. "For now, I want to introduce a new friend." He indicated the purple monkey-like Pokémon he caught a few minutes ago. "For those who do not know her, she was my Pokémon who accompanied me in Hoenn and Sinnoh and decided to return to us."

 **"Hi, everyone. As some of you may know, I'm Ambipom, I was Ash's Pokemon before he traded me to Dawn, then I was sent to O for training, and I'm all finished. I heard what Dawn had did to my former trainer, so I decided to return to Ash, travelled around to find him, and arrived here since I heard about the tournament, and figured Ash would be there!"** Everyone, hearing this, welcomed her with open arms, and went over to chat with her, including those that already knew her.

"Now, get in pairs and start training! Imagine you are a wild Pokémon and your partner is a Pokémon belonging to a trainer who is about to catch you. Fight with your instincts, and do not wait for me to give you a command." Ash ordered, as his Pokémon started partnering up, and started to use their moves to attack each other. Meanwhile, he was walking around, taking notes, and giving some advice to others.

"So, Ash, have you tried to figure out what I meant by being careful of the quiet one?" Mewtwo asked, as he shot a Shadow Ball at Umbreon, who whacked it back with Iron Tail, and he was forced to use Psychic to avoid being hit.

"I was too busy. I'll work on it when I have time." Ash replied.

"You better hurry. Everyone's lives may depend on whether you solve them or not." Mewtwo warned.

Ash nodded, as he watched the other pairs sparring.

After training as a reward, he decided to serve some Poképuffs, and the Pokémon enjoyed them immensely.

 **"These Poképuffs…delicious as always!"** Lugia commented.

 **"Did Pakura make them again?"** Mew asked, munching on its own.

Ash nodded, confirming Pakura made them.

 **"Give our thanks to her later."** Darkrai said, savouring the flavour of the Poképuff. **"Tastes great."**

 **"Pakura sure knows what flavour we all like."** Zekrom said.

 **"And she even made spicy ones for us Fire types!"** Flareon added, as the other Fire-types nodded in agreement.

 **"Best dessert ever!"** Ambipom exclaimed, this being her first time eating a Poképuff.

Ash was sitting thoughtfully, as he had watched the news last night about the mass breakout of the criminals supposedly in jail.

 _"We have confirmed that the high-security prisoners that was put in jail thanks to our Champion Red, did escape from all the regional jails a few days ago. And of course, everyone has been alerted to the danger, as they may target PAL."_ The reporter said grimly on TV. _"But we believe that they would take a while to get to PAL on foot, and they would lay low, as everyone knows who they are now. They cannot attack as they left with no Pokémon or supplies whatsoever. However, recent Intel tells us that two spies, Annie and Oakley, had somehow reunited with their Pokémon, and is now on the loose. It is best we keep our eyes peeled for anything. If you spot something suspicious, please report to the Hunters Association if you're not a Hunter."_

'I should've just killed them.' Ash thought, grumbling inwardly. 'Next time I encounter them, they are not getting out alive.'

* * *

"Judging by the shining and smooth fur your Shinx has, you have been taking care of your Shinx very well." Jude said to a boy who wanted him to evaluate his Shinx's well-being and their relationship together. "And by the response your Shinx gave me when I asked about you she likes you very much, and you guys most likely have a long friendship, I bet you guys have been together for at least 5 years. Am I right?"

Understanding Pokémon language is pretty advantageous when you're a Connoisseur. Jude neglected to mention that the affection Shinx was showing for the boy was because she had a crush on him.

"Yeah, we've been together for five and a half years now." The boy replied, smiling. Except there was something wrong with the way he is smiling. His lips were curled up at the edges, but the smile didn't seem to go all the way to his eyes. It sort of stopped at his gums.

Jude frowned. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing, it's just that…..there was this girl dragged me in her station to evaluate my relationship with my Shinx, but she said that my relationship with her was worst of the worst, and insisted I get another one. I don't know who I should listen to." The boy mumbled.

"Who is this girl?" Jude narrowed his eyes. One thing he didn't like was Connoisseurs who evaluates anyhow.

"It's some girl called Burgundy." The boy replied. "She said she's an expert in telling the relationship between trainers and Pokémon, since she's a Connoisseur too."

Jude tried to remember where he heard the name from, and realized Ash had told him about this girl. Apparently, she has a rivalry with Cilan, but it's one-sided on her part. When Ash first met her, she was pretending to be good enough to run her own Connoisseur shop, and she made Ash show her all his Pokémon, and she said all of them were horrible and he need to replace all of them, and seemed to want to replace Ash's Pokémon without any reason to back it up, and when asked, she replied with "Are you doubting the words of a Connoisseur?"

When asked about her rank, she was revealed to be a C-Class Connoisseur, but according to Ash, she thought that all professionals would say the same thing she did about his relationship with his Pokémon. As an S-Class, Jude had to disagree on what Burgundy said about Ash's relationship with his Pokémon, and Jude thought Burgundy was just a conceited little brat.

Back then, he was eager to hear Ash's adventures in Unova as he was from Humilau City.

"Oh, that girl." Jude waved him off with disdain for Burgundy. "Did you know she was just a C-Class Connoisseur? She's in the novice class, so why are you even listening to her? She's not even allowed to open her own shop for business, and people from her class are only allowed to work as assistants to A-Class and above. Listen to me. I think your relationship with Shinx is great. Don't let that wannabe's word get to you."

"Really?" The boy's smile was more confident and wider now. "Thank you!"

Jude waved, as the boy returned his Shinx to his Pokéball and left after paying Jude, which Jude reluctantly accepted.

Jude sighed. He had been dealing with a long line since lunch break, since besides offering a professional Connoisseur's service, he also runs a bookstore and café, the latter only built the beginning of this year since the café used to be a sweet shop next door that was ran by a family, but it shut down last year after an ancient water pipe burst in the ceiling, destroying all their stock.

He was also planning to stock up on PokéChow as well (he planned for them to cater to all types and type combinations), which was why several of the shelves at the back were still empty, and maybe even stock up on Pokéblocks, Poffins and Poképuffs as well.

In addition, the other Elites had the idea installing a café in the former sweet shop and knocking the wall between Jude's shop and the café down, which gave him more business. However, as far as running the shop goes, while he is good at physically making sales and running a service at the same time, he needed help in running the café, so he usually hired assistants to do it. He even did his own bookkeeping and bill paying, although sometimes he had to ask for help, as numbers aren't his forte.

 **"You look tired."** Purrloin commented.

"You think?" Jude yawned. "I had to deal with so many customers." He wished he could go for a swim or something, since his last swim was interrupted by Ash's message to get his ass back to the Plateau because of the stupid Champions Tournament where they were short one player and Charles Goodshow had decided to disturb them to send down one person.

 **"I'll go get some nice, healthy smoothie."** Purrloin scampered to the café to get the said drink for Jude. She returned with a grape smoothie for Jude.

"Thanks, Purrloin." Jude took a sip of his smoothie. "Maybe a walk would do me some good." With that, he went out his shop for some fresh air, Purrloin following behind.

The first thing Jude noticed was that someone had set up a portable shop station somewhere next to his café. He heard loud voices inside the station, and approached closer to listen in, since there was a female voice shouting.

"Your relationship with your Pachirisu is the worst of the worst!" a female voice declared, and he heard a familiar male voice sighing. "Now let me see the rest of your party!"

Jude opened the curtains to find the voice belonging to a girl dressed in a long-sleeved pink shirt and over it was a red sleeveless shirt with four gold buttons at the stomach, a red bow at the collar, and black pants. She had purple hair with matching eyes, and had an arrogant look about her. Phillip was sitting there, apparently bored of hearing what the girl had to say about his Pachirisu, who was violently shocking the Connoisseur with Thunderbolt.

"What is going on here?" Jude asked. Phillip looked up, relieved to see Jude.

"This person just dragged me into her shop when I was taking a walk, thinking I wanted my Pokémon to be evaluated and saying that the relationship with Pachirisu is the worst. And now she is demanding me to show her the rest of my Pokémon." Phillip said, looking at the girl in disgust.

"What are you doing?" Jude asked the girl.

"I'm just telling Phillip that he is better off with a Pachirisu that has Run Away instead of Volt Absorb." The Connoisseur explained.

"Why?" Jude gave her a funny look.

"Are you doubting the words of a Connoisseur?" She demanded.

'Must be the girl Ash told me about.' Jude thought, but he said, "What Class Connoisseur are you?"

"I'm a C-Class. What about it?" Burgundy asked, jutting her chin out.

"You know C-Class is just a novice class, and now allowed to open their own shop, right?" Jude asked mockingly.

"I know, you know, but she doesn't." Phillip mumbled.

"I think anyone would say the same thing I said about him and his Pachirisu!" Burgundy shouted.

"I think there is no need for Phillip to replace his Pachirisu. While it's true they had been together for only three years, so their relationship is not very close yet, but by spending time and training it, he'll most likely have a great relationship with his Pachirisu in times to come. Volt Absorb is useful as it renders Electric-type moves useless, and even gives Pachirisu energy." Jude said.

"He's lying!" Burgundy shouted to Phillip. "I am the real deal here!"

"Excuse me, but I know Jude for years, and he would never lie. I doubt anyone would believe you. What kind of Connoisseur are you?" Phillip snorted.

"Listen here, in PAL, we don't appreciate fakes who pretend to be professionals. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, doing whatever you like in our region." Jude warned.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Burgundy asked.

 **"Ignorant, isn't she?"** Purrloin asked. Jude nodded.

"If you don't know, there's no point telling you." Jude mumbled.

"Let's see who is right by having a one-on-one battle! If I win, Phillip replaces his Pachirisu!" Burgundy shouted.

'As if you can even win.' Phillip thought, as Burgundy chose Stoutland for her Pokémon, while Jude sent out his Absol.

"Bonjour, new tasting time, s'il vous…" She was cut off when Jude said, "Absol, use Leer!" Of course, that move caused Stoutland's defences to drop, and Jude finished Stoutland off with a Rock Smash. Since Burgundy wasn't a very good Pokémon battler and Jude's Pokémon attacks are all stronger than normal, it would be a while before Stoutland can battle again. Right now, it would need the Pokémon Center.

"If I catch you doing this again, I won't hesitate to report you to the Pokémon Connoisseur Association, and take away your license, because you're not fit to be one." Jude warned.

"Now if you excuse us, we have a lot of things we have to do besides wasting our time with the likes of you." Phillip added. With that, both of them left.

* * *

Gardevoir was peacefully collecting Berries for her Trainer in one of the gardens near the forest, when suddenly, a boy shouted, "Gallade, Psycho Cut!" Gardevoir nimbly dodged the attack, and saw that a bespectacled teenaged boy was ordering the Gallade to attack her.

Max looked at the Gardevoir's Mega Stone on her neck greedily. He had seen the Gardevoir enter the garden, and had followed her. If he captured that Gardevoir, and after getting Pakura to date him and persuade her to give him a Key Stone, he could Mega Evolve this Gardevoir!

"Gallade, use Leaf Blade!" Gardevoir dropped her basket of Berries, and countered with a powerful Magical Leaf to blow Gallade back.

"Double Team!" Max shouted, as Gallade made copies of himself to confuse Gardevoir. However, Gardevoir countered with Disarming Voice, which eliminated the copies of Gallade and hit the real one in the process.

Max was getting frustrated. Why can't the Gardevoir see that she belonged to him, and let herself get captured already? "Gallade, Shadow Ball!" However, this was countered by Moonblast, and it overpowered Shadow Ball, hitting Gallade.

Before Max could say anything, he and Gallade were lifted up with telekinesis, and the Dragon Princess, this time wearing a casual outfit that consisted of a Cerulean blue dress with a gold belt, complete with grey leggings and grey boots. She had a choker with a Key Stone embedded into it, and she was wearing a gold bracelet patterned with flames. She was looking for Gardevoir because she had found something, and wanted to tell her, only to run into this scene.

'Geez, how many times are people going to attack my Pokémon, thinking it was a wild one?' The Dragon Princess wondered. 'That's it, my Pokémon isn't leaving the cave alone from now on, and I will increase the range of the psychic power around the cave.'

"Hey! What are you doing?" Max was struggling against the telekinetic hold the Dragon Princess had on him and his Gallade.

"Why are you attacking my Pokémon?" The Dragon Princess countered.

"Your Pokémon?" Max's eyes lit up. "Hey, would you trade my Gallade for your Gardevoir? My Gallade is strong as well, if you want a strong Pokémon."

'Doubt Gallade would be able to help me win a Trainer's Tournament like my Gardevoir did.' The Dragon Princess thought, but she said, "No way. I have read your heart, and you are very power hungry, and who knows how you'll treat my Pokémon." She was disgusted when she learnt he saw PAL's Princess Pakura as a door to power and a trophy wife he would soon attain and as a means for media attention.

"Of course you want to trade. I'll…" he was cut off when the Dragon Princess looked up, revealing glowing blood red eyes, and Max found himself trapped in an illusion after looking into her eyes, being pinned down to the ground with stakes, and the Dragon Princess approaching with a sword in hand. He screamed as she pierced him repeatedly with her sword, unable to struggle or move.

Max and Gallade (knocked out by Gardevoir) was lying on the ground, unmoving, as the Dragon Princess looked over the former.

" **What did you...?"** Gardevoir gasped when she saw the Dragon Princess' red eyes were glowing, indicating she had used that power. Also, the tell-tale sign of blood dripping from her mouth was there. **"Please, Princess, stop using that power! It won't do you any good."**

"Too late. My eyes are now permanently red. Let's go, I found something." The Dragon Princess mumbled, gesturing to her eyes as she wiped the blood with her sleeve, and heading towards her cave. Gardevoir gave a resigned sigh, picked up the basket, and followed her. Gardevoir knew at the rate the Dragon Princess is going, she was going to...

Gardevoir didn't even want to think about it.

* * *

Ash had decided to head to the library for more information so that he could work on the Legendary Dragon Duo case. He was currently at the Old News section, pouring over back issues of The PAL Times (one of the newspapers in PAL), trying to figure out a clue to the Dragon Prince and Princess' real names, so he may get a lead, and find out more about their background. Perhaps at least he can find out what they look like, so that he can match it to the list of citizens living in PAL.

Imagine his surprise and disappointment, when she found the article about two people being crowned the Dragon Prince and Princess, but the Prince and Princess had their eyes covered by their fringe, which is impossible to determine their appearance, and this sentence: _The Dragon Prince has requested that their real names are to be kept secret, for their, especially the Dragon Princess', safety._

The Dragon Princess' safety…..but why? Was she in danger, and people are after them?' Ash thought. He looked at the picture of the Duo again.

Ash sipped the mango smoothie he bought from the library café, and looked at the picture of the Duo. There wasn't much to look at since half their faces were mostly covered by the fringe.

'What I know is that the Dragon Princess is still alive.' Ash thought. 'I don't know about the Dragon Prince though. He remembered once, he saw Rosaline with her head bleeding, and he had asked what happened. Rosaline stated that she saw the Dragon Princess flying on her Dragonite, but when she tried to follow, the Dragon Princess had teleported behind her, and whacked her on the head before she could react, knocking her out.

He knew from this, the Dragon Princess is evasive, being able to approach Rosaline without her noticing until the last second, and she was able to detect Rosaline, but truth to be told, Rosaline is one of the worst when it comes to stealth, not being a very quiet person.

It's also clear that the Dragon Princess did not wish for anyone to follow her, which was why she hit Rosaline hard on the head so she won't follow.

Ash looked at the picture again reflectively. 'Could they have been people on the run before they became the Legendary Dragon Duo? Is that why they do not wish to disclose their real names to everyone ' He thought. That is a possibility. But the question is, what, or who, are they running away from? All the six villainous teams had been shut down by him (and Pakura, but he did most of the fighting, as part of Pakura's observations to see if he was worthy to take the Hunter Exam.)

'Could the Princess have foreseen that the five bosses and their guards escaped? Is that why she was trying so hard to hide?' Ash wondered. The Duo, in addition to being Dragon masters, were also strong psychics themselves. Their psychic abilities are said to far exceed Rosaline's, and that's saying something, considering she is one of the strongest psychics in PAL, and she is talented enough to be accepted in the PAL Elite.

He decided to do more research on psychic abilities, and found one that mentioned little about psychic power, but showed a dangerous ability.

 _Scarlet Anger_

 _Usage is indicated by the user's glowing red eyes, activated only when a person had immense negative emotions pent up in them such as sadness, anger, hatred, etc._

 _Scarlet Anger is actually more of a mode instead of an ability. When Scarlet Anger is activated, the other psychic abilities the user may have are much stronger and harder to resist. User also gains immense aura, which results in a speed and strength boost._

 _Furthermore, user won't be able to feel any pain, may it be a physical, emotional, mental, basically all types of pain. The user won't feel anything should anything happen to them, so even if they were given a fatal wound, the user would not be able to feel it._

 _Can be activated at will, but will automatically activate when the user is emotionally agitated. New users cannot get out of this mode unless they are drained of aura, but experienced ones can deactivate it at will. However, experienced user's eyes would turn red permanently due to too much usage of the power. It is unknown if it is possible for their eye colour to return to their original one, as the people who possessed this ability died before the answer can be given._

 _Illusions cast (if user knows how to cast illusions via psychic power) when this is being used is also such that their illusion is overwhelming. Furthermore, the illusion is so powerful that it causes the brain to believe anything that happens to the victim to the point where the illusion physically harms the victim's body. This fearsome ability allows the user to potentially kill their opponents with illusion alone. It can also fool those who sense with aura._

 _Such frightening power is not without its drawbacks, however. Every time the technique is used, the user's body deteriorates, and will shorten lifespan. Also, user experiences intense muscle pain for two or three days._

 _As it is fuelled by negative emotions_ , t _he user must vent all their pent up emotions, or else the negative emotions may turn inwards, causing their sanity to be eaten away, and may turn unstable._

 _Users were also known to have intense headache and tendencies to cough out blood after Scarlet Anger is use, due to the strain it gives to the body. Requires immediate treatment if blood is seen, or the damage done to the user's body body wouldn't dissipate. User may not even remember what they had done during activation. Could even lead to an early death._

 _Trivia: It is still unknown whether the user would lose this ability if they experience positive and happy experiences, as none of the users had any happy experience in their lives, hence the activation of this power._

Ash looked down at the (very) short list of known users of this ability, and noted that apart from Pakura Goldstein, the first Princess of PAL (who later committed suicide at the age of 56, he heard), not one lived beyond the age of 30, due to the toll it takes on the body. The last user died over sixty years ago, and the ability is assumed to have died.

But what if, someone in PAL, somewhere, possessed this ability and is keeping it secret?

'I think that if the user experiences positive emotions, or encountered positive emotions, he or she may be able to turn their eye colour back, and may lose this ability altogether.' Ash thought. 'It's just that no one had the chance to do it yet.'

Just then, he received something in his CommuniDex, and it was from Pakura.

 _"I think the Skitty that Pakura has is mine! It looks just like it!" May was ranting to her friends as she tried on her dress for the upcoming PAL Contest. She was convinced that it was her Skitty. They apparently left to go there during lunch break to get new outfits for May and Dawn, since they are competing in the PAL Contest._

 _"I know, and I suspect the other Elites may have our other missing Pokémon too. Especially that Phillip guy, he has a Pachirisu. It could have been mine for all I know." Dawn agreed. "We're going to take the missing Pokémon. Even if it's not ours, we'll still take it, since they are Elite trained, and must be powerful too."_

 _"Oh, yeah." Iris nodded._

 _"Maybe, but for now, you shine like a star in the Contest, yeah?" Brock said to May and Dawn._

" _Yeah!" May and Dawn were pumped up and ready, as they looked at the dress they were wearing._

 _"No, this won't do." Dawn continued, looking at the latest dress in the mirror. "What should I try on next?"_

 _Then, a dress a headless mannequin was wearing caught her eye. It was the colour of the engagement ring they saw Pakura wear on her finger (well, or at least she was wearing it on her left ring finger) - the softest pink imaginable- and was covered all over in sparkling pink beading. It was off the shoulder with a sweetheart neckline and a huge, filmy skirt._

 _Dawn gasped. Even though length wasn't to her taste, as she was looking for one that reaches to her knees, it was still the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was prettier than the one she wore in the Sinnoh Grand Festival. It was prettier than the one she wore as Princess Salvia. It was way, way prettier than the one she wore in the Sinnoh Contests. It was even prettier than the one she wore in the Alamos Contest as well._

 _It was the prettiest dress she had ever seen._

 _"Can I try on that dress?" Dawn asked the store clerk, pointing to the said dress._

 _"Sorry, that dress is reserved." The store clerk replied._

 _"What do you mean reserved?" Dawn demanded._

 _"It's reserved for one of the judges for the PAL Contest. I apologize, but this is not for sale." The store clerk answered as best as she could._

" _No, this dress is made for me! Can't you see?" Dawn pointed to the dress and herself, striking a pose in the process._

 _The store clerk looked from Dawn to the dress, and stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "I say the judge looked better than you in the dress."_

" _How dare you!" Dawn wanted to punch her, but her friends held her back._

 _"Dawn calm down! I suggest we first see what Pokémon that was same as our missing ones do they own, and once we do, we expose them with evidence, and they would most likely lose their positions, and we would get them back!" Brock suggested, trying to change the subject._

 _"Yes! This is what we should do!" Misty shouted, causing the salespeople in the store to shush her._

 _"Great idea!" May clapped her hands in glee. "With the power of the Pokémon that they have under my ownership, I will win more contests and battles in the future! I want Pakura's Sylveon too, that Pokémon is so made for Contests." May sighed in her daydream._

The video was attached with a message.

 _If it wasn't for the fact that this was my personal stylist's boutique and I had to go over there to prepare for my appearance at the PAL Contest, I wouldn't even bother going to the same place as those shitheads. I figure you'd might like to see this. –Pakura._

'Time for a sabotaging plan…' Ash thought, as he packed up the newspaper articles and the files, and left the library, plotting something to get back at May and Dawn. While it's true he wanted them dead, he didn't want them to go without a "parting gift". First he had to humiliate them, make sure everyone knows of their treachery, and see everyone vent their thoughts on them.

But first, he is going to see a farmer, and then find Phillip and Pakura to help him in a plan he was formulating in his head.

* * *

"This is all your fault, Cilan." Iris huffed. They are all currently in Pokémon Center rooms, and having their luggage tossed out of the Plaza Hotel didn't put them in good mood, because they had just lost a free luxurious place to stay, and had to settle for average accommodations.

"My fault?" Cilan protested. "I swear I placed the keys in my pocket, really, but for some reason it wasn't there."

"Right, and Groudon can fly." May replied sarcastically.

"Break it up, guys." Brock said. The two girls glared at Cilan, before looking away.

"I knew I shouldn't have opted out of the Battle Tower rooms!" Misty grumbled. "Now it's too late!"

"Never mind that now." Max grumbled. "We also need to find out who stole our keys! I bet it's one of those Elites that did it…well, not Pakura, though she would never do that."

Max and Brock drooled just at the thought of the beautiful princess. If either of them had her hand in marriage, PAL region would be theirs to rule! And by merely dating her, they would get attention from the media and they can further their careers.

The girls looked at Max and Brock, somewhat disgusted.

"But why would they do anything to us? We haven't done anything to them." May replied.

"I say we get more information. Their taste has a strong flavour, yet there is something strange." Cilan said.

"Let's go to the Library. I heard they got the biggest Library and lots of computers you can use for free." Trip suggested.

"Sure." The others nodded, and headed to the library.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Dragon Princess was walking with her Latias and Latios (invisible) and holding the something she had found earlier, which turned out to be a calling card that had two lipstick marks on it, which she was sure belonged to the pair of criminals Annie and Oakley. She was still smouldering about Max, who tried to attack her Gardevoir.

She did not know much, other than the fact that they tried to steal a Soul Dew and the Eon Pokémon Latias and Latios (not the ones that she owned), as they needed those to activate the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare (DMA), so they can take control of Alto Mare.

Now that they have escaped from jail thanks to some mass breakout she had heard on TV. She wondered if they are going to go after the Eon duo again, not for the DMA, but for themselves to keep and use for battles, as they are Legendary Dragon Pokémon after all.

The Dragon Princess also had other thoughts in her mind. When she first saw that Dawn girl, her first impression is that she looked exactly like Princess Salvia. She knew Princess Salvia, since as when she was still having reign over PAL, she had been invited to Arrowroot Town Palace for dinner a few times. However, Dawn's personality is so different from her (at least from what she had seen), and she thought Dawn is a pretty bitchy person. How did those two have the exact same appearance, she'll never know.

Just then, there was a net of energy coming towards one of her Dragon Pokémon, and the Dragon Princess took out a knife, infused it with aura to slice them in pieces. A Psybeam and a Night Shade attack, which Latias and Latios blocked using Safeguard and Protect respectively.

The Dragon Princess detected two people above her and she looked up only to see the criminals she had read about before standing on a tree branch- Annie and Oakley. They were wearing glasses that probably showed where invisible Pokémon were. They somehow retrieved their Pokémon as next to them was an Ariados and an Espeon.

"And what do you women want?" The Dragon Princess snarled.

"Pretty simple, really." Annie said, as they somersaulted down to face her. "The Latias and Latios that you have in your possession."

"What do you want with them?" The Dragon Princess asked. "I am sure it is not to activate the DMA again."

"Perspective. We figured Latias and Latios would make a good addition to our team. Now hand them over, or we'll have to take them by force." Ariados and Espeon began growling at the Dragon Princess to try and intimidate her, but the Dragon Princess merely sighed. Do they really think they can beat her?

She took out her laser gun, while sending out her Delphox and her female Meowstic to combat their Pokémon.

"I'm in a bit of a hurry right now…." The Dragon Princess mumbled, as she started to shoot at them with her pistol-like blaster, which had several modes Energy Magnum, Heat Ray, Stun, Poison Gas, Tranquilizer Darts, Beam, and Needle. The women dodged easily, and the Dragon Princess had to note that they had an excellent balance and athletic abilities, which may be a blur to a normal person, however, she still can see their movement with her eyes.

'You know what to do.' The Dragon Princess communicated with Meowstic and Delphox via telepathy, and they prepared to intercept Ariados and Espeon, who at their trainers command and telling them the location of the invisible Eon Duo, began firing a rapid Swift and String Shot at the Legendary Dragons.

"Latias, Latios, return!" The Dragon Princess returned her Eon Duo to their Pokéballs.

"Espeon, get the Pokéballs!" Annie ordered, and Espeon used Psychic to get them, only to be smacked by a Shadow Ball.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Princess decided she should attack as well, changed the gun to Beam mode, and shot at Annie's leg, which made her stumble slightly, as her leg was burnt. Annie and Oakley used their acrobatic skills to dodge the beams the Dragon Princess was shooting at them, and did not notice when the Dragon Princess teleported, and Annie was somersaulting towards her.

The Dragon Princess grabbed Annie by the arm and threw her over the branch, and slammed her onto the ground violently. Annie fractured her leg due to the height the Dragon Princess threw her. In addition, she was hit by a Swift attack her own Espeon fired, but Meowstic dodged.

Meanwhile, her Meowstic fired a Psybeam and it clashed with Espeon's Psybeam, but her Meowstic's Psybeam quickly overpowered Espeon's Psybeam, and the Espeon crashed against the tree. Her Meowstic snarled, as she used her powerful Psychic move to throw Espeon around.

Oakley decided to try to attack the Dragon Princess while she was engaged with Annie, but she had sensed her coming from behind, and gave her a powerful kick that was so fast Oakley couldn't even see it, and she was sent flying, coughing out blood, as she took on the aura infused kick unguarded.

"Oakley!" Annie called out, but that was her last word as the Dragon Princess was in her face a second later, and her throat was slit. The last thing she saw was the Dragon Princess with her hand covered in an icicle which is shaped like a sword. The sword was dripping with blood- her blood.

Oakley panicked when her sister fell to the ground dead. "Ariados, String Shot!" She wheezed, clutching to her damaged stomach.

"Delphox, Mystical Fire, full power." The Dragon Princess countered calmly, which fried Ariados to a crisp, and it fainted. Oakley weakly held up her Pokéball to return Ariados.

'Weak.' The Dragon Princess thought, her features written with disdain, but was covered by her fringe. She decided to change the gun mode to Needle shoot at Oakley again, who was able to nimbly dodge the needles she was shooting at her. However, that was just a ruse for her to jump back, as behind her was her Meowstic and Delphox.

"Where do you think you're going?" Oakley looked up to see a blue colour surrounding Espeon indicating the Dragon Princess had released it. She examined Annie's Pokéball.

"Hmm…this has quite a nice design I think I'll keep it." The Dragon Princess commented. She looked at Oakley's Pokéball, which Oakley had dropped. "I think I'll take yours too. But first…" The Dragon Princess concluded, as she slowly advanced on Oakley, showing her gun. Oakley tried to back away, but she hit a barrier that the Dragon Princess had conjured up.

The Dragon Princess approached, hitting her gun against her palm repeatedly.

She aimed the gun in between Oakley's eyes, and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Pakura yawned as Aquamarine was prepping her for the cameras as a Judge for the PAL Contest. She was dressed in the same pretty dress Dawn had wanted, and Aquamarine was brushing out her hair, as she is going to let her hair loose, and add a tiara on it.

Aquamarine took one of her hands and held it out for inspection. "Now, what do you think for the nails? A pink that matches you dress? Or a deep red?"

"It doesn't matter." Pakura waved her off, as Aquamarine gave a wry smile and started doing her nails, while Pakura simply continued reading a magazine called _Pokémon Friend_. Her Sylveon and Skitty were reading an old copy of Poké Chic, the one where it featured her doing a photo shoot as the winner of the Hearthome Collection years back.

There was a tap on her dressing room door, and Ash stepped in. "Can I have a minute?" Ash asked Aquamarine. He was with Pikachu and Lucario.

Aquamarine nodded, as she was done with her prep, and left the dressing room.

Ash had to admit that Aquamarine had did a good job on Pakura's outfit and hairstyle, as it had enhanced her natural beauty. The outfit also showed off her curves very well.

"What is it?" Pakura asked, snapping Ash out of his thoughts.

"We all know that Dawn and May are participating in that little Contest." Ash said. "I do not want them beyond the Appeals, and since this is on National Television, I want them to be humiliated as well." Ash said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What do you have in mind?" Pakura asked.

"If I am not wrong, the Coordinators have a backroom with lockers where they keep their stuff, right?" Ash enquired. "As in their change of clothes and all that?"

"Yes, and only I have access to the key combinations to the lockers…." Pakura trailed off.

"Knew it. I want you to choose two lockers, and fill it with these Rapidash manure, and assign these lockers to May and Dawn. Make sure not to be adjoining or they will get suspicious. Once they open, the manure would hit their dresses. And since they have no time to buy another one, it's likely they would try to take one of yours from your dressing room. And then Phase Two comes in." He handed her two heavy buckets, which Pakura slightly wrinkled her nose at due to the smell.

"What do you have in mind?" Pakura asked, interested in the plan.

"I remember one of the gowns Aquamarine designed for you burned, and revealed another gown in a different colour and design when you twirled around. Can you get Aquamarine to modify two of the dresses in such a way that when they twirl around to show off their new dresses, it burns the dress completely off, rendering them naked or at most, in their undergarments?" Ash asked.

"I like your thinking." Pakura was nodding, a hint of her smile on her lips.

"And as for their Appeal, I'll try to wreck the performance myself with my psychic powers, and since whenever I use psychic powers there isn't a tell-tale light blue aura, everyone would think it was an accident." Ash explained.

"I see….but there are security cameras in the locker room." Pakura said.

"Not to worry, Phillip would take care of it." Ash waved it off. "He will signal you when he had deactivated the cameras. Alright?"

Pakura nodded, just as her CommuniDex rang and saw it was from Phillip. She then carried a bucket (Sylveon was carrying the other) left her dressing room towards the locker, ready to put Ash's plan in action.

" _Revenge time?"_ Shiki asked, appearing next to her, as she made her way to the locker room.

Pakura nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah, Ash figured just death is too merciful."

" _I don't know why you are going along with this. Haven't you seen him being with that bimbo earlier?"_ Shiki frowned.

"I thought we agreed that we didn't see anything." Pakura replied.

Shiki sighed. _"I know, but you know what I mean. He is all I hear from your mouth now…makes me wonder if I have been replaced."_ He was trying to joke, but the sad tone indicated otherwise.

"Don't be ridiculous, you can't be replaced." Pakura said. "You will always have a special place in my heart." She held up her left hand, which on the ring finger, had a two-carat pink heart-shaped diamond on a platinum band. "I'm wearing your ring, remember?"

" _Glad you still know."_ Shiki nodded in approval. _"Want to go for a walk in the forest or garden after you are done with this prank? We still have time to spare after all."_

Pakura nodded. A walk might be what she needs.

* * *

Unfortunately, the walk Pakura had with Shiki made things somewhat worse. Why? It came in the form of the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia.

"Hello, Pakura." Cynthia said, with somewhat of a sneer in her tone, and though her face did not betray anything, her eyes showed jealousy and anger.

"Hello, Cynthia." Pakura replied coolly. As she did not add the word "Champion" in front of her name, it was clear she does not respect Cynthia, as normally, Pakura would add titles in front of a person's name as she was a very formal person.

"Where's the Champion in front of my name?" Cynthia asked.

"Respect has to be earned. You didn't earn mine for sure." Pakura replied.

"You have to respect your betters." Cynthia warned.

Pakura pretended to examine her nails. "How is turning an innocent boy to the authorities in and trying to seduce our Champion make you a better person?"

"I stopped Ash before he could kill another person, and at least I know who I want!" Cynthia countered.

"Our Champion won't be that stupid to fall for your tricks." Pakura said coldly.

"We'll see." Cynthia ran a hand in her long blonde hair. "Put up with me, Pakura. You'll be seeing me more often once I join your group." With that she walked past Pakura.

" _Unfortunately, Ash is still in love with her."_ Shiki said in disgust.

"I could tell." Pakura mumbled.

" _Wonder what he sees in her. Do you think he'd realized Cynthia is a manipulative bitch?"_ Shiki was glaring at the direction Cynthia left.

"Probably until it's too late." Pakura replied. 'And after all I did for him too.'

" _The first move she would make after being in your little group is to take you out. I don't know if she would incapacitate or kill you, either way, the Elite would fall."_ Shiki warned.

"I don't care much about the Elites actually." Pakura mumbled.

" _At least do it for me?"_ Shiki pleaded.

Pakura looked at him. She knew he wanted to be an Elite member, and would've even been the Elite Leader if not for the circumstances that caused him to be unable to be a member. Now she was stuck in the role.

"Fine, I'll do it. For you."

* * *

Meanwhile, a pair of brown eyes snapped open, and she found herself on a soft bed in a strange place. At the bedside was a box full of sweet-smelling treats.

'What happened?' Eevee thought.

The door opened, and a woman with bright pink hair worn in round rings, and wearing a Mexican-pink coloured dress with a white nurse apron, and low-heel Mary Jane shoes entered the room, carrying a tray.

"Ah, Eevee, you're awake!" Nurse Joy was saying. "You've been out for a few hours!"

She set down a bowl of PokéChow and another bowl of water for Eevee, who gratefully gulped it down. As Eevee ate her food, Nurse Joy explained that a girl had brought her here because she had fainted from fright and probably needed rest from a near-death experience. The girl had also left a box of desserts known as Poképuffs for her to eat, and brought down the box for Eevee to see. She saw that the Poképuffs were beautifully decorated with various icing or sprinkles, just like the one she stole from the black haired girl…

Wait a minute….

Maybe that girl was the one who left it for her! She tried one, and it was heavenly, like the one she took earlier. That confirmed that she was the one who left her here and brought those sweets for her!

Nurse Joy released Eevee after doing a check up to confirm she was healthy, and Eevee rushed out of the Pokémon Center, trying to find the girl….

* * *

"And finally, over at that side." Rosaline pointed to her left at the final exhibit, which was a painting of a woman with wings and is hanging from a rope. The feathers from her wings were either broken or fallen off, and there was blood dripping from her neck to the ground "Is called the End of Hope. Painted by Noel Wilson during the time the dictator ruled over this region, before he was beheaded by Pierce Alexander Lane, our very first PAL Prince. This painting symbolized that under the dictator's cruel ruling, the region and people had very little hope to survive and have a good life they longed for."

As she is one of the best in the History of Pokémon, she was assigned as the tour guide for tourists who would visit the museums all over the region if she had the time. Sadly, most of the time she had other duties to do.

"And now, you are free to explore the museum. Please take your time." Rosaline politely bowed to the tour group, and decided to get a drink from a machine, as she was thirsty from all the talking. She stood at the corner with her Espeon, observing the tourists with mild interest.

However, her break didn't last for long as a group of three men came up to her, and one said, "So, I heard you are a strong psychic?"

Rosaline frowned. It depended on how they look at it, as she doesn't fight with her psychic powers, it was more like telling the future kind and to an extent, mind reading and memory erasing. She dare not try her mind reading powers on the Champion and the Leader, specially the Leader, because the one time she tried, she was thrown into the dungeon for two weeks. The dungeon is a place located one floor below the basement and it is really cold and dark, and only illuminated by a green light which gave it a very scary atmosphere. At one point in their lives, they have been locked in at least once (either by Ash or by Pakura), and only Pakura hadn't been in there before (Ash had been locked in once).

Everyone knew that Rosaline was an incredible fortune teller. It lied in her ability to make prophecies that always came true. For her, there were two ways to make a prophecy: verbal, or written. Either way, when she makes prophecies, her eyes would become dull, signalling she goes in a trance. However, her verbal prophecies usually have reference to more than one person, and the written usually referred to one person only.

There is something unique about the written one as well. Whenever she gets into a trance and writes a written prophecy, there would be a summoned spirit (everyone called it the Lovely Ghostwriter due to the fact that the colour of the spirit seen was pinkish-purple) that would manipulate her arm to automatically write her fortunes that usually came in the form of poems.

It was because of her fortune telling ability (that was never wrong) that she was celebrated as one of the strongest psychics in PAL. However, she still fell behind the Dragon Duo in terms of psychic powers. Apparently, she heard that no one could lie to the Dragon Duo, and they can potentially kill even professional Hunters like her with their psychic powers alone.

She knew the Dragon Princess had psychic shields, as there was this once she tried to read her mind from behind when she followed her, but got nothing, and that must've angered the Dragon Princess, for she hit her on the head really hard for that, and knocked her out.

Rosaline dreamt to be labelled as a clairvoyant by the citizens one day, just like the Dragon Duo had been. Unfortunately for her, her fortune telling ability appears once in a blue moon, and she wanted to develop her ability to the point that she would be able to activate it anytime she wanted. Maybe, she could use her ability to help predict futures for people and give advice on how to avoid the inauspicious ones. She bet she'd be paid a lot for that.

"Something like that." Rosaline replied, sipping on her drink.

"So are you, or are you not?" Another interrogated.

"I am, but…"

"Well, tell us!" A third demanded.

"Tell you what?" Rosaline was puzzled.

"Tell us how to gain psychic powers!" The first ordered.

"I don't know. I was born with it…" Rosaline said slowly.

The three men were furious. They wanted to replicate psychic powers so that they could hypnotize any girl into going out with them, which was why they sought Rosaline, who was known to be the strongest psychic, and Rosaline refused to share her secrets.

"We'll make you tell us!" They were about to assault her, when a hand calmly pulled Rosaline out of the way before her Espeon can react.

"Now, it isn't very nice to assault a lady." Siebold said. He was one of the people in the tour group. Rosaline looked up at him, surprised.

"Back off. This is between her and us." The third guy replied.

"Starmie, use Psychic!" Before anyone can react, Siebold sent out his Starmie, and the Psychic blasted the three of them out of the roof towards the sky.

"Thanks a lot." Rosaline said gratefully to Siebold.

"No problem, Rosaline." Siebold replied.

"I didn't expect you, a member of the Kalos Elite Four, to be interested in a museum." Rosaline said. I thought your interest lies in cooking, Siebold." She knew all these was because she had read about the other members of the Elites at some point in her life.

"Perspective." Siebold complimented. "I am here because I wish to know more about PAL attractions, and I hear you were giving a tour."

Rosaline nodded. "I wonder if you can match our Leader when it comes to the quality of cooking. She is a good cook herself."

"Do you want to try?" Siebold raised an eyebrow.

Rosaline was about to answer, when her CommuniDex rang with a message. She read it, and then said, "Sorry, I've got to go. Duty calls. Anyway, thanks again." With that, she rushed out of the museum with Espeon.

* * *

True to Ash's words, May and Dawn entered early, and were wearing their Contest dresses already, and as soon as they opened the locker door they were assigned to, the manure fell out, and hit them, ruining their dresses. They were forced to take a shower to get the smell off them, while cleaners came to clean up their locker, muttering something about lockers not being a place to store fertilizer, as they assumed the previous user must've wanted them for fertilizer, but forgot to come retrieve it.

The bigger issue was their dresses, as they were now ruined, and they won't have time to get it washed, cleaned and dried in time for the Contest. Neither would they have the money to buy another dress, as the two dresses were fairly expensive.

Now they were wandering around in their normal clothes, looking for another dress to wear, and as they passed Pakura's dressing room, they perked up when they heard Pakura sigh and mumble something about Aquamarine sending her two dresses which would burn off and reveal another dress and design when the user spins around long enough, and that she would never twirl to show off anyway.

May and Dawn looked at each other, excited about getting the said two dresses for themselves, just as the door opened, and they hid as Pakura walked past them with her Sylveon and Skitty. Much to Dawn's irritation, she was wearing the very same dress that she wanted.

When Pakura was out of sight, they rushed in, and sure enough, there were two beautiful dresses Pakura had apparently hung against the wall. One of the dresses was a pale grey dress which was off one shoulder, and there were sparkles at the right side of the grey dress that looked like snow. The other was entire royal blue in colour, with a gold belt in the middle.

"Those dresses are more beautiful than the ones we bought! What's more, I think we can fit in the dress. Let's take them!" May suggested.

"Won't we get caught?" Dawn asked.

"Look, this may not be a beauty contest, but you know the best looking Coordinators always seem to pull more support from fans." May went in the dressing room, and took the grey dress. "Come on. Our dresses are ruined, and these are our only choices, but they are the best choices. We'll even give the twirl and show off another dress to help our performance."

Dawn smiled, as she took the other dress. She was definitely in the plan. They also stole a bag from the dressing room to hide the dresses, and snuck out of the dressing room.

Unbeknownst to them, Pakura watched the entire scene, and said to her CommuniDex, "You're right Ash. They took the dresses hook, line and sinker."

"Good. All of us will be in the audience watching the show to unfold. I think Makoto would like some pictures for the paper as well." Humiliating them on National TV should be enough, but for Ash, he wanted those who never follow Contests to know all about what happened too, to make it even more mortifying.

* * *

Jude was sighing as he looked at himself wearing a light blue buttoned up shirt with a red ribbon around the collar, along with a dark blue formal jacket and matching pants. As one of the best variety show hosts, he had been enlisted by Pakura to be the host of the PAL Contest and later, the PAL Showcase, as he usually added the right note of fun to the proceedings. Jin had left earlier, as he was done with his prep for the Contest. He had arrived earlier because Ash said he wanted to borrow his camera for tonight's Contest and Jude had to come pass it to him before his prep.

"Look at you. Like you came right off the fashion runway." An amused voice said. Jude looked up, and saw Diantha in the reflection of the dressing table.

"Hello, Diantha." Jude said wearily. He knew Sabrina, Brycen, Diantha and Elesa as they were fellow actors (the first three) and a supermodel, like him (the latter). He had even worked with them at some point in time. "I thought you wanted to see the PAL cities."

"Good to know PAL locals don't disturb celebrities." Diantha commented.

"Anything interesting happened today?" Jude asked.

"Apart from Phillip running away from me?" Diantha joked.

"So I see you met Phillip." Jude said. "You'll have to forgive him for running from you, he's actually socially awkward you know. But he's still more approachable than Red or Pakura."

"Your Champion and Leader are practically unapproachable from what I've seen." Diantha frowned.

"That bit was obvious." Jude combed his hair back a few times. "You'll get used to it after a while. Just leave them alone and they'll leave you alone. But never try to piss them off. You step out of the line, let's just say it wouldn't be pleasant for you." After all, among the five of them, the one with the highest chance of killing their targets would be Pakura, followed closely by Ash (Pakura had been in the killing game longer than Ash did, and also, she's a Blacklist Hunter)

"What do you mean by that?" Diantha asked.

Jude shook his head. "Ah-ah that is a secret exclusive to the PAL Elites…and those close to them." He had dropped the usual cheerful tone that he had, and replaced it with something forbidding.

Before Diantha could respond, an attendant called Jude, saying the Contest was about to start, and Jude swept out of the dressing room, leaving Diantha to wonder what Jude was talking about. She was fairly sure that the PAL Elite members were hiding something judging by what Jude said.

Meanwhile, Jude stepped out onto the stage, to many cheers.

"Alright, everyone! Let's get this started!" Jude declared, as everyone was screaming. "Welcome to the PAL's Contest of the Year. I am Elite Jude and I will be hosting this event!" There were cheering and clapping from the audience.

"Of course, many Coordinators, even those who won the regional Grand Festivals before, come from all over the region to compete against one another, and the winner would get…." Here, he held up a pure white silk Ribbon which is inlaid with gold. The top half looked more like miniature angel's wings on a golden grafted flower, and the silk at the bottom was let free like a typical ribbon. "This would be the prize for the winner, the PAL's Special Ribbon, where it can be used as a ticket to the Grand Festival, even if this is the only Ribbon you have in your possession, and it's only offered in this tournament only."

Everyone's eyes shone at the beautiful Ribbon that was definitely made of real silk and maybe even real gold.

"Please welcome the three judges of the PAL Contest: Gym Leader Fantina from Sinnoh, Champion Wallace from Hoenn, and our very own Princess Pakura from PAL itself!" the three of them walked out onto the Contest battlefield, and to the judge's stand. Fantina and Wallace waved to the audience, while Pakura simply remained silent and stoic.

"And now, to open the Appeals Round of the Contest, Princess Pakura would make an exhibition Appeal for all to see." Jude stepped to the side of the stage, and allowed Pakura to take the stage for her Appeal.

"Gardevoir, Milotic, time to shine!" Pakura threw two of her Pokéballs into the air, and as they opened, one showed a huge droplet concealing the Pokémon, and landing on the stage with a spectacular splash, which produced sparkles, revealing Milotic. The other produced very pretty sparkles and a huge heart, and Gardevoir emerged from it.

"Milotic, start things off with a Twister. Gardevoir, lift Twister up with Psychic, followed by Disarming Voice at the bottom of the Twister." Pakura commanded.

The Twister was lifted up with Psychic, and when Gardevoir layered it with Disarming Voice, the pink heart shapes were spinning around, making the Twister look like it was alternated between grey and pink. It was then put down again.

"Alright, fire a Focus Blast." The Focus Blast turned the Twister into a light blue colour, making it alternate between light blue and pink now. The audience was in awe of the pretty tornado.

"Now use Moonblast, Milotic, use Ice Beam! After that, fire the fusion move into the Twister." The Ice Beam froze the Moonblast, and Gardevoir threw the frozen Moonblast inside, letting the Twister rip it up, and it looked like the Twister was spitting out pink and blue droplets, which was destroyed with Thunderbolt, letting it explode in sparkles.

"Milotic, use Dragon Tail to give Gardevoir momentum. Gardevoir, jump into the Twister. After that, you know what to do." The two Pokémon nodded, and followed her commands

The audience was perplexed. What was Pakura thinking?

Meanwhile, a certain Eevee, who heard the commotion in the Contest Hall, decided to go check it out, and gulped when she saw a lot of people. She decided to hide at the Corner of the Contest Hall behind a pillar, and peeked out. Much to her delight, she saw the same girl she had met earlier, and she was giving a performance.

"Milotic, use Dragon Breath to destroy the Twister, and follow it up with Dragon Pulse and Water Pulse." The Dragon Breath effectively destroyed the Twister, and exploded in small sparkles, but Pakura wasn't done. Standing there was Gardevoir jugging Moonblast, Focus Blast, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, and adding a Water Pulse and a Dragon Pulse from Milotic with her Psychic.

"Throw them all up, and Milotic, surround them with Aqua Tail." The Aqua Tail made the moves all sparkle in the light, and both of them fired Hidden Power simultaneously at the moves that Gardevoir threw up. It clashed, and exploded into a brilliant fireworks, and the explosion result even left colourful sparkly droplets that rained down on everyone.

Everyone was mesmerized by the Appeal, as it was clear Pakura had been practicing hard for it, considering the amount of moves use just to pull this off. Pakura gave a small bow with her Pokémon, signalling she was done with her Appeal.

The Eevee's eyes were sparkling, dazzled at Pakura's performance. It definitely dreamt to be part of a performance like that, and knew Pakura could help grant her wish.

" _Mama is amazing!"_ Manaphy had let himself out of the Pokéball to see her. He was now on Ash's lap, and was tall enough to peek out, but also short enough to duck and hide from May and Dawn if needed.

"Now Manaphy, make sure May and Dawn doesn't see you, ok?" Phillip said. "We don't want any…incident happening."

" _Ok, Phillip."_ Manaphy replied.

Pakura was given a standing ovation for the Appeal, as Jude said, "Wow, that was an extremely magnificent performance. What do you two have to say?" He turned to Fantina and Wallace.

"Oh, my, my, my, the best Appeal I have ever seen!" Fantina commented in her French accent. "The ability to keep the audience entertained, and the mystery of what Gardevoir was about to do next…it keeps us suspended, and it was all worth it!"

"The elegance of Milotic and gracefulness of the Gardevoir makes a great match up. She was able to utilize a lot of her Pokémon's moves to keep her Appeal beautiful and original. I love it." Wallace said.

"And there you have it, folks. They have spoken, and they loved the Appeal as much as you do. Let's give another round of applause to Pakura and her team! Now, let's have our first contestant out on stage to show off his Appeal."

Ash yawned at most of the Appeals, which mirrored what Pakura was feeling at the moment. Those appeals are beautiful, yes, but they lacked originality, since he knew she had seen so many of those on TV before. Can't those people think up of their own ideas and not get some rip-off from a previous Contest?

Ash knew that while Paku valued the beauty of an appeal, she valued the originality even more. She believed that if one wants to earn the title of Top Coordinator, they have to have their own style, and give different ones for each Contest so that it'll be unpredictable, and make the audience want more.

While it's nothing wrong to be inspired by another Appeal seen before in Contests or Grand Festivals, she thought it's stealing credit if they used Appeals that are highly similar to the ones she seen before. That is part of the reason why she won six Grand Festivals straight in a row, because she never used the same combinations twice.

"When is the sabotage happening?" Rosaline whispered.

"I think it'll be soon." Phillip replied. He had disabled the cameras for the locker room, so they won't link Pakura to the sabotage, and also, he saved the footage of May and Dawn stealing the dress for Pakura, as she mentioned she wanted it to be used against them later.

They perked up when May came on stage, and sent out her Venusaur and Wartortle. Manaphy ducked down, making sure May couldn't see her.

Ash had planned this carefully after all. Since May was to go first, he got Jude to get Paolo (his personal designer and stylist) to offer Dawn a makeover to prepare for her Contest in his makeover room, and hold her there until it was her turn, so that Dawn would just enter stage directly after that, and not realize what the dresses actually does when she twirls (there was no TV in Paolo's makeover room so Dawn won't find out what happened).

However, Ash had also made sure to tell Paolo not to let Dawn look in the mirror, as he was going to make Dawn's hair similar to what would happen if she got electrified (including the sparkles to make it look like her dandruff is sparkling), but only no water-type moves would work on fixing her hair this time. Good thing is that Coordinators have to return to the locker room after their Appeal so May won't be able to warn Dawn. Rosaline would also erase Dawn's memories once she entered so she can't tell on Paolo.

Unfortunately, May had decided to twirl first to show off her beautiful dress. When May heard the screams of the crowd, May knew it was because the smoke from the fire was devouring her dress, and she is not worried as Pakura had stated it would reveal another dress. Besides, the fire wasn't burning her. The smoke thickened, covering May, and when the smoke cleared, there stood May in only her underwear, and everyone could see that she isn't wearing a bra, which meant her breasts were exposed, as she was striking a pose.

Some of the audience, especially the women started screaming, others covered their eyes, those who were consuming things spat out whatever they were eating or drinking and some men looked interested at May's assets, although it wasn't much to look at. Others were murmuring something about naked princesses, and staring at Pakura, who glared, as she was not about to let them see what's underneath her clothes.

Ash didn't seem fazed and continued filming the video of the humiliation and taking pictures for the newspaper to give to Makoto. Maybe he can send the video to the news channel to discuss it as well. Rosaline and Phillip covered their eyes, not wishing to see the scene.

Jude looked very pale when he saw May's body, the microphone trembling in his hand. That was something he did not want to see.

Fantina was covering Wallace's eyes, as she shouted at May. Pakura meanwhile, was pretending to sigh, and placed her forehead on the table.

" _What's going on?"_ Manaphy asked, as he was hiding.

" **I'll tell you later."** Rosaline's Espeon whimpered, as she ducked down the moment May's dress burnt off.

May was puzzle at their reaction, so she looked down, and screamed, as she realized she was wearing nothing but her underwear. She quickly covered herself up, returned her Pokémon, and rushed back to the locker room to dress back in her usual clothes.

"Alright…..er…..disaster aside, let's ask the judges if they want to give her another chance!" Jude said, as he turned to the three of them.

"What do we do?" Wallace asked. "Should we give her another chance to perform?"

"Yes, but make sure she's not naked!" Fantina replied. "Put her at the very last on the list." She told Pakura.

"Fine." Pakura mumbled, pencilling in May's name at the last on the list, which did not go unnoticed by Ash. He smirked. It looks like he still has a chance to ruin May's Appeal.

Some of the audience clapped at their decision as May is the Princess of Hoenn, and they were looking forward to see what she has in store for them. Others, however, were disturbed at the scene she had displayed earlier.

"Alright, without further ado, let's give it up for our favourite music Coordinator, Nando!" Jude announced, as they had to continue the show. Ash watched as Nando came out on stage, ready to perform. He allowed Manaphy to peek out to watch again, seeing as May was out of sight.

Nando sent out Altaria and Lopunny, and he decided for Altaria to use Aerial Ace, and while doing that move, he got Altaria to use Sing, and followed by Perish Song, so that the colourful musical notes glowed gold, and the execution of the move looked more elegant with Aerial Ace.

"Altaria, use Sunny Day. Lopunny, use Thunder Wave." The Thunder Wave gave the musical notes and electrifying appearance and the Sunny Day made the musical notes even more beautiful.

'No surprise there.' Ash thought, watching the colourful music notes float in a pretty glow before it was destroyed by Lopunny's Thunderbolt, sending rainbow sparkles all over the stage.

"At least it's still better than most of the Appeals we saw." Rosaline commented to Phillip, who nodded in agreement.

"And thank you, Nando, for the spectacular performance. Next up, we have one of Johto's Top Coordinator, Marina!"

A pretty blue-haired girl that Ash remembered seeing in magazines and the video about Double Performances in a website walked out onto the stage, to cheers of some of the fans, and Ash noted they were wearing T-shirts with her on it, giving Ash the impression she was some sort of idol.

Marina sent out her Jigglypuff and Misdreavus, and they performed a little synchronised dance, before she told Misdreavus to use Shadow Ball and Jigglypuff to use Shock Wave, which fused together to make the Shadow Ball look like a meteorite. She then had Jigglypuff to throw Misdreavus in the air with Psychic and had the Misdreavus use Ominous Wind to add trails of purple in the path of the meteorite. To finish off, she had Jigglypuff use Flamethrower on the meteorite, and both exploded into colourful sparkles which dazzled the audience.

Everyone seemed impressed, including Fantina and Wallace, but Pakura stayed as impassive as ever, her expression unreadable. When asked for her comment, she did not say anything.

Manaphy's eyes were sparkling at the performances. _"Papa, do you think Mama would allow me to perform with her?"_

Ash gave a small smile. Who wouldn't smile, with such a cute child-like charm Manaphy possesses (though he was an able battler)? "Of course, Manaphy."

Ursula was next, and Ash remembered she made a unique Appeal during the Sinnoh Grand Festival, using evolution of her two Eevee while using Hidden Power to make a very unique Appeal. He wondered what she had in store this time, as she sent out her Vaporeon and Jigglypuff, and started her Appeal.

* * *

Dawn did not know what everyone was laughing about as she walked in the stage after she was done with her makeover, not noticing that her hair was looking funny. Ash allowed Manaphy a glance, and he ducked down again, laughing at Dawn's hair as well.

Rosaline knew this was when she comes in, and subtly erased Dawn's memories.

She felt her mind has been swept clean of something, but the show has to go on, and decided to send out her Clefable and her Quilava.

'So she had obtained a Clefable, huh?' Ash thought.

She decided to start her Appeal first, which consisted of Clefable (which apparently she caught and evolved quickly using the Moon Stone, since Clefable's rather clumsy) using Ice Beam to make an ice structure, and Quilava would use Flame Wheel to ride along the ice beam's path, creating an ice slide, Clefable behind him.

However, Ash used his psychic powers to push Clefable off so that it fell off the slide, and hit the ground. He pushed Quilava as well, and Quilava, panicking that some invisible force was touching it, accidentally used too much power, destroying the ice slide. However, Dawn was able to make use of the sparkles to fall on her, allowing her to look great when she was twirling and the audience covered their eyes this time (except Ash, he was filming it) as the dress burned off.

For the second time, the audience (for those who didn't cover their eyes) treated to an underwear lingerie model show, but unfortunately (again) Dawn wasn't wearing a bra, exposing her assets to the entire Contest Hall (for now anyway). This one was funnier in the sense that her hair looked like it had been through an Electric-type attack.

Dawn was wondering what everyone was so shocked about, and thought she looked stunning, only for Pakura to gesture for her to look down. When she did, she shrieked, and ran out of the stage. There was another scream, which indicated Dawn had looked into the mirror and saw the state of her hair.

'That would definitely ruin their chances of getting into the Battle Rounds and their reputation as Coordinators.' Ash thought, snickering to himself. His Elites and Pokémon were also trying not to laugh out loud with some of the audience. He wondered if Makoto would slander them as sluts in his article when he sends these to him later.

Meanwhile, May was sobbing at the humiliation that she got in a clothing closet located somewhere outside the locker room that is a great place for privacy since no one ever seemed to need extra clothing, like she and Dawn did, but they chose to take Pakura's because her ones are much more beautiful than the ones currently in the closet.

She was sure that the dress changing would win her more fans, but her chances are now ruined thanks to the dress somehow burning off exposing her body to the entire Contest Hall, including the judges, and everyone is probably laughing at her misfortune. She saw all the judges disgusted expressions (Actually, Pakura's one was unknown as she placed her head on the table)

The question is, would she get a chance to perform her Appeal again?

A while later, the door opened, and one of the judges, Pakura was looking down at her.

"W-What?" May asked, somewhat rudely.

Pakura had to stop herself from smirking at May's state.

"We decided that you'll be performing last." Pakura said curtly.

May's eyes shone. "Really? T-Thank you."

Pakura was about to leave, when May asked, "Dawn didn't twirl, did she?"

"What do you think?" Pakura hid a smirk, and as she made her way back, she said, to May's horror, "By the way, I know what you did."

May wondered if she knew about the theft of her dress, or the fact that she collaborated to kill Ash's mother six years ago. They had gotten away with it by framing Ash himself, and the others believed it. They did not know about PAL, as they did not get any news on how PAL reacted when the regional Champions reported this incident to them.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Phillip asked Rosaline, who had her notebook and pen out.

"I was trying to write down some inspirations for my next painting." Rosaline smiled. "These Appeals had given me a good idea. I say they are a work of art themselves." She spun her pen and continued writing a sentence or phrase, but Ash frowned when she wouldn't stop writing.

That was when he realized Rosaline's eyes was dull. She was making a written prophecy. Her ability of prophecy construction only shows itself once in a blue moon, and only when there's extreme danger coming closer, ones that may mean their lives or deaths. To show up right now, it meant something big would happen.

 **"Her prophecy making ability has shown itself again."** Pikachu whispered, watching Rosaline.

 _My Dear Prince,  
I'm losing my mind  
I did so much,  
Won't someone help me in kind?  
I am the quiet one  
Silent and tranquil  
I move in silently for the kill  
On my own free will  
I was abused by society, abused by evil  
And deserted by you for another  
I slowly shut everyone out  
I am now seeking revenge  
For all that they had done  
Hiding my deadly secrets  
Because you seek them, my prince.  
I wonder if you will hate me  
If you knew what had happened  
I'll let everyone feel my pain  
And I don't care if there's no gain  
Anger and hate takes over  
I already became a red-eyed monster  
Soon I will be lost for good  
Can you see the truth, open your eyes  
And save me before it's too late? _

Ash took the poem, very sure that the message was meant for him.

'No doubt, this poem is from the person who caused the mysteries' point of view. And this person is definitely a user of Scarlet Anger, judging by the fact that the person refers himself or herself as the red-eyed monster.' Ash thought, remembering if Scarlet Anger is used too much, the user's eyes would turn permanently red. 'I was right, there is still a user of the Scarlet Anger alive.'

He knew now that the person causing the mysteries was most likely female, as she was conveying a message to the person she referred to as her prince, indicating the person she was in love with was a guy, but this guy never reciprocated her feelings, instead loving another person, and the girl is most likely losing her sanity from all the tragedy she had been through, the boy she loved abandoning her for another person, and the constant usage of Scarlet Anger.

Ash took a picture of the poem, and sent it to everyone via the CommuniDex.

"What do you have there?" A voice asked. Ash jumped, and turned to see Cynthia smiling at him. Manaphy frowned, not liking where this was going. He didn't like Cynthia being with Papa. Didn't Papa remember what she did to him?

The corner of Ash's mouth twitched upwards for a split second, much to Rosaline and Phillip's disapproval, as they looked up from reading the poem briefly. "Nothing much." He replied, putting the poem in his pocket. "Just enjoy the show for now."

Cynthia smiled, and leaned in closer to him. As Ash's full attention was on Cynthia, he did not notice Manaphy hopping away from his lap, and bolting to Pakura.

" _Mama, carry me."_ She looked down to see her "child" Manaphy extending his arms.

Pakura obliged, and carried Manaphy in her arms. The smile Manaphy gave her gave a little comfort, but not much. An Eevee who was watching Pakura looked in envy at the Manaphy.

Unbeknownst to them, Pakura had heard everything thanks to her good hearing, thought she was reading the poem. She only had time to dimly note that Rosaline's prophecies are always right on the mark, when she suddenly had a splitting headache. Not the headaches people usually have from too much work, it's those headaches that renders her dizzy and unable to stand, and need to lie down.

"Are you alright, Pakura?" Wallace asked in concern, seeing Pakura grit her teeth slightly.

"I'm fine, Champion Wallace." Pakura replied, rocking Manaphy, who cooed, and snuggled in her chest. "I'm just fine."

In reality, she wasn't because she knew exactly what the poem was talking about, unlike the others.

And seeing Ash with Cynthia didn't help matters. At all.

 **BP: Ok, so this is the last chapter I'll post before school starts. Once school starts, I'll be very busy, and I'll most likely not be able to post regularly, as the only time I'll get to write the next chapter is during the weekend, as although I have no school on Monday, I still have attachment.**

 **Let me explain a few things (no spoiler, though):**

 **You see, why Rosaline didn't just simply teleport to Unova for the tournament was because she had never been to Unova, and teleportation only works when the user has been to the place they wanted to teleport before. Also, the Plateau was very far away from Driftveil City, so a lot of energy would be needed to send the group (further the place is from the spot the user is in, more energy is required), so that was why they took the train, instead of Ash teleporting everyone there. He can, but it's strenuous.**

 **Sorry if you didn't like the way I embarrassed May and Dawn. I know is bad, but that was the only way could think off to make sure they are really humiliated, as their dignity is definitely destroyed after this, and this is the most humiliating thing I can think of. May's Appeal would be sabotaged in the next chapter. Suggestions on how Ash should ruin her Appeal would be good.**

 **Also, Ash is only a noble and kind to Pokemon (and sometimes his Elites). Other than that, he doesn't care about the others, I know it is OOC, but then again, a revengeful Ash is already kind of OOC anyway**

 **The Dragon Princess has the ability to disguise herself via illusion and it is very hard to detect, and dispel, especially if she used it together with Scarlet Anger.**

 **I will have to explain Scarlet Anger as well, as this doesn't exist in the original.**

 **When in use, it is indicated when the user's eyes turns red (if the person has permanent red eyes due to too much usage, it is indicated when the red eyes are glowing), and it cannot be developed manually (meaning it cannot be learnt). It is only developed naturally when a person has lots of negative emotions in his or her heart. Scarlet Anger boosts the aura and psychic abilities of a person, and makes them even more powerful. It may also boost their physical enhancements.**

 **Furthermore, user won't be able to feel any pain while using it, enabling them to continue fighting even if they receive a fatal wound (which is actually quite dangerous). They will only feel the full effect of their injuries when Scarlet Anger is deactivated.**

 **If the Dragon Princess uses psychic powers while Scarlet Anger is in effect, it would be very hard to resist and dispel it, as Scarlet Anger causes it to become even more powerful.**

 **It is also advisable not to look into her eyes when she uses it, as the target would automatically fall into an illusion should this happen. This Scarlet Anger can also disrupt the sense of aura.**

 **However, every time Scarlet Anger is used, the user's body deteriorates, and will shorten lifespan. Also, user experiences intense muscle pain for two or three days. It also eats away at one's sanity, making them slowly losing their mind the more they use it, which is why it is extremely dangerous to use it regularly. As Scarlet Anger eats away emotions as well, the users are generally emotionless. The users of this ability generally die young.**

 **Note: There is a reason why she developed this Scarlet Anger. I call it, the straw the broke the camel's back. What caused it would be revealed later in the story. As Ash's theory of them losing this ability when they experience enough positive emotions, and encountering positive experiences is correct (Ash is much cleverer now), whether her eyes would turn back to normal, or she will lose this ability, remains to be seen. You can suggest if she should keep or lose this ability.**

 **Oh yes, speaking of pairings, For Jude, I have narrowed down to either Valerie, Diantha, Elesa or Sabrina, and for Phillip, he is still free game. Diantha would either end up with Jude or Phillip, I haven't decided.**

 **Give suggestions, review, and tell me what you think! (Although I think it was awful)**


	4. The case of the missing Dragon Duo

**BP: Thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows for this story! Sorry for updating late, but my assignments is extremely heavy and I had to dedicate all my time to complete these assignments. Which means the only time I can write the chapters is on the weekends, and even then I have limited time as I need weekends to finish my essays.**

 **And those people just had to put three make up lectures on the only Monday where I do not need to go to attachments (grumble), and my school schedule is like crap this semester, as we are the only class which needs to go to school on Friday, and we had to stay in school for nine hours every day now. Wonder which idiot made this shitty class schedule for us….**

 **Warning: It might be centered on the Dragon Duo, as Ash is focused on getting information about them in this chapter.**

Halfway through an Appeal, an attendant, who tends to the Coordinators before their performance, rushed to the judges table and asked if one of the Co-ordinators could be moved to the last to give him time to find his Pokémon, which was missing, and let May take his place, as the other Coordinators needed more mental time to prepare themselves, and she had volunteered to go next.

"Is May ready?" Wallace had asked.

The attendant nodded. "She is. Don't worry, she's wearing clothes." The attendant meant it as a joke, but none of them laughed.

Fantina said curtly, "Very well. Then she can do her Appeal after this."

Pakura, somewhat irritated, started making changes to the list again.

'What's going on, Paku?' Ash was using telepathy to communicate with her. It was apparent he had seen the scene.

'Apparently, one of the Co-ordinators are moved to last because his Pokémon went missing and he wanted to find him, and May volunteered to take his place. She's next.' Pakura replied in her mind, as she absent-mindedly petted Manaphy, who was sitting on her lap, and peeking out from the judges table to watch the performances, in case May or the camera spots him, since the camera is trained on Pakura quite often. But he didn't mind, as long as he gets to be with his Mama.

'Very good.' Ash replied, but he was interrupted by Cynthia yawning, and leaning back on her seat, and giving Ash a beatific smile. Ash inwardly admitted she looked beautiful in the way she presented herself, ignoring the somewhat disapproving looks his Pokémon, his Elites, and their Pokémon was shooting at him.

" **Cynthia may be beautiful, but so is Pakura. And he doesn't notice her, does she?"** Pachirisu whispered to the Pokémon group.

" **That's because Ash still loves her, despite what she did."** Espeon was somewhat ticked off.

"I don't trust her." Phillip whispered to his Pokémon. He watched Rosaline in mild interest, who was shuffling tarot cards, most likely using these cards to predict the upcoming events that would happen. Phillip heard her mumbling, "Hanged Man…I foresee a dark hair young person, tragic losses early in life, in love with an unattainable person, and one who dislikes questions and people interfering with their life…"

Rosaline turned to Phillip, holding the Hanged Man card. "You know, when it comes to love for this, the theme can be one of letting go. "Letting go" of an unattainable lover, for example, will bring about the possibility that someone that one can be with will "be there" for them. One-sided love always hurts, don't you think?"

Phillip nodded, not noticing Ash was taking her mutterings to consideration, and taking note if it in case it might help him in his Dragon Duo case, just as Jude announced that May was now to come up on stage to show off her Appeal, although she was wearing one of the old pink and white dresses from the closet, which looked relatively ugly, looking like Cinderella's dress after it has been ruined by her stepsisters. Thankfully, the audience was tactful enough not to say anything (most PAL locals are generally tactful and polite)

"Venusaur, Wartortle, take the stage!" May's Pokéballs opened with bubbles and flower petals to reveal Wartortle and Venusaur respectively.

"Wartortle, use Bubble! And Venusaur, use Petal Dance!" This caused a pretty effect where the petals were swirling around the bubbles, and the bubbles were sparkling in the lights, making the petal dance shine as well. Ash sat up straight, watching for a time to sabotage her performance.

"Wartortle, use Ice Beam!" The Ice Beam froze the combination, and May planned to use Razor Leaf to break it so that it would explode into beautiful pink and blue sparkles, which was expected as she had practiced it.

"Now, use Razor Leaf!" May commanded.

'Now!' Ash used his telekinesis to redirect the Razor Leaf, and May was puzzled when Razor Leaf missed its target, and was sent sailing towards the stage lights above, severing the wiring, and letting several of the lights fall. Unfortunately, it was directed somewhere near the judges table, and only Pakura was quick enough to grab Manaphy, and jump away from her seat. Ash, thinking quickly, used his own telekinesis once more so that the stage lights won't hit Wallace and Fantina, and gently laid the stage lights on the ground.

'You got to be kidding me.' Pakura groaned, as the Contest Hall was now in partial darkness. 'Ash just put my position in jeopardy with that stunt. If word gets out what actually happened, I'd be fired.' She wondered why she was willing to risk her position for Ash's revenge.

Jude called for a break so that Phillip and some other crew members could go repair the lighting set again.

The audience left the Contest Hall to get some dinner, while Phillip went high up the ladder to start working on the stage lights.

Wallace and Fantina are talking to some other regional guests, including Jude and Rosaline, and it was apparent the regional guests had nothing better to do, since they are here now, as usually they aren't interested in Contests. Wallace was telling them about the amazing Appeal Pakura put up, and Fantina was agreeing with Wallace, adding her comments about being one of the most beautiful Appeals she had ever seen, and even exceeded the Appeals seen in Grand Festivals.

Meanwhile, Ash left the Contest Hall to get some dinner from the Tower. The others had decided to get something light as they weren't very hungry, so he went alone with his Pokémon, and he was accompanied by Cynthia. This sight did not go unnoticed by Pakura, who simply sighed at Ash's blindness. Cynthia turned and gave Pakura a sweet smile, which Pakura saw as a smirk. Or maybe it was a smirk, but if anyone saw it, they would think it was a pretty smile. Pakura simple rolled her eyes in turn.

" _Aren't you going to rescue him?"_ Shiki asked.

"What's the point? Ash had shown plenty of times he is capable of taking care of himself." Pakura mumbled, but she settled on playing with Manaphy, while letting Sylveon and Skitty have free reign of the place. Meanwhile, Jude and Rosaline joined the group of chatting regional guests, who apparently had nothing better to do.

"Rosaline, Jude, can either of you pass me the stage lights?" Phillip called from high above the ladder, interrupting his conversation with the other regional guests.

"Sure." Jude shrugged, and with his strength, lifted the light in one hand with ease, and threw it towards Phillip like a baseball, to the shock and awe of the other regional guests. The gaped when Phillip also caught the spotlight in one hand, and nodded his thanks, before working on fixing the spotlight, and attaching it back to the ceiling.

"How did you guys pull that off?" Flint asked, surprise on his features. "It's so heavy!"

"Oh, we do training for ourselves besides Pokémon training, you know." Jude said. "PAL Trainers are expected to be able to protect their Pokémon as well in our own way."

"So, what training do you do to protect your own Pokémon?" Steven asked.

"Oh, we do all sorts of training whenever we are free, you know, such as via this game stimulus Phillip…" Rosaline started, but she was cut off with a voice saying, "You guys are telling them too much."

Jude and Rosaline jumped, and turned to see their Leader with an unreadable expression.

"Sorry, Pakura." They said in unison. The other regional guests looked at them curiously. What was it that they wanted to say before being interrupted? And what kind of training do they actually do when they are free, and what does it have to do with the person now fixing their stage lights?

"Well, anyway….Steven, look out!" Out of the corner of Jude's eye, Phillip lost his balance and fell, along with the ladder, and the ladder was heading Steven's way. Before anybody could react, a trail of ribbon was wrapped around his waist, and he was pulled to safety, just as Jude caught Phillip, and the ladder fell to the ground.

Steven sighed in relief when he was safe, and turned to look at his saviour, only to blush when he saw the beautiful Leader's face just right next to him. Eevee's eyes were awed at Pakura's quick reaction to situations. Her "child" Manaphy was clapping in joy at her quick thinking.

"You ok, Phillip?" Jude asked, as he placed Phillip back to the ground.

Phillip nodded, through it was clear he was pretty shaken about the fact that he fell off a high ladder.

"…" Pakura stayed quiet, giving Phillip an appraising look, before turning to some other crew members who were resting, and said, "You guys, take over for Phillip. Now." The crew members practically fell over themselves to complete the task she had given them (Well, who wouldn't considering it was a request from the PAL's Princess, and it didn't hurt that she had extreme beauty). Pakura also threw two things at Phillip, which turned out to be a mini candy bar and a can of soda, as sugar does help someone relieve their shock…or so she heard.

"Thanks, Princess." Phillip smiled in relief. Pakura made a gesture that is something between a nod and a shrug.

Phillip joined the talking group, munching on the candy bar, where the subject then changed to the upcoming fashion show where Valerie and Elesa were scheduled to model the latest female PAL clothing, while Jude was to be the host and commentator. Jude was the one who had selected those two because he had known them while working for the modelling industry years ago.

Jude had moved to PAL because he wanted to improve on his career, and after being accepted into the PAL Elite by the Dragon Duo, he stayed there permanently. In the process, he became a world-famous supermodel, a famed actor, internet idol, and even became a variety show host, which makes him the most popular socialite in the entertainment industry.

"So, how are they going to advertise the male clothing?" Volkner had asked. It was all female clothing because they had designed more female clothes than male ones.

Jude shrugged. "They are going to advertise it through magazine, which means I'll have to go for a photo-shoot. You guys should come for the fashion show. It's an hour after the Contest in two days' time."

The guests nodded, stating that they would check out the show.

Speaking of checking out, Pakura had sneaked out of the Contest Hall to check on Ash.

* * *

Clair was carrying a box of tapes from the library, and went up to the fifth floor, where the Johto Elites and her cousin resides in, inwardly grumbling on how heavy the box of tapes were.

When she reached the fifth floor, her cousin, who was watching TV, looked at her in surprise. Luckily, he was alone. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Clair tossed the box of tapes onto the table. "It's done." she simply replied.

"What's done?" Lance asked.

"I've got the recordings of the Trainer's Tournament from the library." Clair replied.

"Why would you do that?" Lance gave her a funny look.

"This tournament is a great opportunity for us to restore our clan's reputation we had worked hard for many years, which has gone down the drain in one measly day since the fact that our Clan has been killed and their stuff and Pokémon had been stolen from them, in addition to the eternal blizzard they had put us in, which means no one would even visit my Gym anymore, and it makes us look bad too!" Clair exclaimed.

"What's the point to this?" Lance asked.

"The point is one of us, probably you, will be taking home the victory, to start building our reputation again. These are the recordings of all the winners of the Trainer's Tournament. We're going to watch them and learn some strategies we can use and everything we can about those PAL Elites. And if the killer of our Clan is in PAL, we can get revenge by defeating his or her Pokémon, because he or she may be the winner of a Trainer's Tournament!" Clair replied.

'I doubt I can win the entire tournament since there are the other Elite Fours and Champions to think about, and they want to win as much as us. Not to mention the PAL Elites, whose abilities we hardly know...except Rosaline's, but she's stronger than three of the Champions already….and she's said to be the weakest one.' Lance thought, as Clair rummaged through the box of tapes, which was marked with the year of the Trainer's Tournament and the name of the winner, and sure enough, found the tapes with Rosaline's, Jude's, Phillip's and Red's names, and passed them to Lance, as she tried to look for the one with Pakura's name.

"That's weird." Clair said after a few minutes.

"What's weird?" Lance asked.

"I can't find one with Pakura's name on it." Clair frowned, checking the list of tapes that was supposed to be inside. No, Pakura's name wasn't among the winners. "The Dragon Duo's tape is missing as well, but apparently, according to this list, they had won the second Quarter Anniversary."

Lance was mildly surprised at this news, that that the Dragon Duo were Quarter Anniversary winners. According to Charles Goodshow, Quarter Anniversary winners were more prestigious as the winner is considered to have overcame all odds with the twist that was given to win the trophy.

"It'd be great if we can find the Dragon Duo and challenge them to a battle." Clair remarked, as she knew the significance of winning the Quarter Anniversary as well.

"Clair, you have to remember they also specialize in Psychic Pokémon, to increase and support their Dragon training." Lance reminded her. "Chances of us winning with Dragon Pokémon would be quite slim."

"True, but you know every Dragon Master dreams of battling them someday, they are like every Dragon user's final opponents when it comes to the path of Dragon Mastery." Clair agreed. "Well, do you want to watch those tapes or not?"

"Have you found Pakura's tape?" Lance asked.

Clair shook her head. "I couldn't find one. It looks like she never won the Trainer's Tournament, which is weird, considering she is the Leader of the Elite."

Lance wondered how Pakura became the Leader if she had never won the Trainer's Tournament, as if he wasn't mistaken, one of the requirements needed to challenge an Elite Four in all regions is to win the regional tournament, and he assumed this rule also applies if one wants to be an Elite Four member.

"We can always get the Contest, Grand Festival, and Pokémon Showcase tapes if we want to find out how Pakura battles." Lance remarked, remembering Pakura was a Legendary Coordinator, PAL Duchess, and according to Diantha, she was a former Kalos Queen.

"Oh yeah, why didn't I think of that?" Before Lance could say anything, Clair rushed off again, presumably to get the tapes.

'She's really serious about this. With the Cursed Child thing and all, I doubt they don't deserve this. I need a break.' Lance inwardly sighed.

* * *

Ash and Cynthia were at the fourteenth floor of the Battle Tower eating dinner, and talking about the Contest Appeals and the PAL region in general. Well, Cynthia was talking. Ash was eating quietly, ignoring Cynthia's attempts at banter (as he did not know how to keep someone entertained when talking), and answers with a yes or no or just stayed silent. To Cynthia, that just made Champion Red even cooler in her eyes.

"Can you tell me more about PAL?" Cynthia requested.

"Like what?" Ash mumbled.

"How about….Hunters?" Cynthia was curious to know what they are. She knew that PAL is run by Hunters, at least that was what the PAL website said when she checked the library computers.

Ash frowned, before answering, "A Hunter is a person that has proven themselves through rigorous examination to be an elite member of humanity. If you pass the examination, a Hunter would be rewarded with a license to go almost anywhere in the world and do almost anything. Hunters usually are the ones to protect the region and their Pokémon from criminals, Pokémon poachers, and abusive Pokémon trainers, but they can devote themselves to tracking down priceless items, valuable information, and other stuff."

"What examination?" Cynthia was curious.

"Officially, it is the Hunter Exam." Ash replied. "But since it is so intense people die from it, it was called the Exam from Hell by many."

Meanwhile sitting at the fourteenth floor door that leads to the stairs, Pakura sighed. Of course, Ash warmed up to Cynthia just like that. What does she have that she doesn't anyway?

" _Listen to them, it's so obvious he is opening up to her about our region."_ Shiki was disgusted.

"…" Pakura did not say anything, but she nodded.

Manaphy whimpered when he overheard his Papa and Cynthia. He doesn't want Cynthia as his new Mama! Pakura is a good Mama, he won't leave her! But what if the two of them separates? Just the thought of it worried little Manaphy.

Pakura seemed to have sensed Manaphy's distress, as she silently rocked and petted him, which made Manaphy feel better, as he was with his Mama. She listened as Cynthia talked about how she enjoyed the train ride here, since the train compartments were comfortable and the food was delectable.

'How about I throw you on the tracks for the train to run you over?' Pakura thought scathingly, as Cynthia finally asked Ash what kind of Hunters all of them were, and that was when Pakura decided to interfere, as she stepped into the fourteenth floor, and said somewhat frigidly, "Ok, Champion Red, that's enough information to give to some foreigner, don't you think?"

Although her tone did not give anything away, one could tell she meant it as an insult.

Ash and Cynthia turned in surprise, though the latter's expression turned to anger. "And who do you think you are, telling your Champion what to do?" Cynthia replied.

"Considering I am the Leader of this Elite, and have been here longer than he did, I am sure I have some say over what we tell other people." Pakura said dispassionately.

"Oh yeah? He's still the Champion, which means he still has more say, and the final decision is his!" Ash was amazed Cynthia was willing to stand up to him as in to what information he can give away.

Cynthia looked down at the Manaphy in Pakura's arms. May had told her about a Manaphy that called her Mama, and wondered if it was the same Manaphy in her arms right now.

"I don't think you are fit to be this little one's mother, considering your attitude." Cynthia said, and cooed to Manaphy to get his attention and perhaps get him to choose her as his new Mama, but Manaphy looked frightened, and clung to Pakura's dress.

"Considering what you did, I don't think you would last long here, and I hope you commit suicide in the end." Pakura spat, clutching to Manaphy protectively.

Cynthia mock gasped, and clutched to her heart. But of course, to Ash, her distress seemed real, and went over to her, grabbing her arms to steady her. Cynthia, pretending to be in distress, ran off towards the arriving elevator. Pakura hated to admit it, but Cynthia looked regal and attractive on the outside no matter what expression she had on her face.

Ash rounded on Pakura. "How could you say that to her? She was just curious!" Ash shouted. "It isn't wrong to be curious about a region you never been to before!"

Pakura doesn't seem fazed. "Considering she didn't listen to you when you were Ash Ketchum, what makes you think she'll listen when you're Red Satoshi?"

"Maybe she has changed!" Ash countered. "You'll have to apologize to her later."

Pakura coldly raised a brow. "Never."

Ash's Pokémon has to applaud Pakura's defiance against her Champion. They didn't like Cynthia either, but who are they to speak up when it's their trainer they're talking about?

Ash was at a loss of words. Did she just say she would never apologize to Cynthia, even if she was in the wrong? He was about to give her a piece of his mind, when he was snapped out of it by Manaphy, who was whimpering. Ash looked guilty for frightening Manaphy, and took him from Pakura's arms to soothe him and cheered him up with some Poképuffs.

Since Pakura could neither join in on comforting Manaphy nor snap at Ash, she thought the best thing to do was to clear out for now, and left the Battle Tower. Besides, she still had a Contest to judge.

As she left, Ash said after her, "Paku, this isn't over."

Shiki caught up with her. _"Your Champion may be powerful, but he's an idiot if he thinks she has changed."_ He remarked.

Pakura nodded in resignation. She wondered if Cynthia had known about the benefits Hunters can get (since information is easy to get from the computer in the library), and figured that since Ash was handsome, powerful, having access to Mega Evolution, and had all the perks of being a Hunter such as not paying for public facilities can be used at no cost, and all such services are provided at first class, unrivalled freedom to travel around the world, with access to places that normally doesn't open to ordinary members of the society, and the fact that they do not need to pay when buying stuff, and maybe Cynthia was taking advantage of the free benefits Ash would have provided if she was his girlfriend.

Pakura hated Cynthia for having this effect on Ash, oh yes she does. She knew Cynthia would ruin everything Ash has worked for. How she wished she could've killed her right here and now, to eliminate this threat.

But then, Ash would hate her if she did that.

Shiki seemed to have sensed her thoughts, as he placed his hands on her shoulders, and said, _"Paku, listen, no matter what happens, you still have me. And you know I can't wait until this ring…"_ He indicated her engagement ring. _"…Is replaced with my wedding band. I'll be waiting. Just hang on."_

Pakura nodded, and walked towards the forest, and unknowingly walked past the Saffron City Gym Leader, Sabrina, who was out looking at the lake with her signature Pokémon, Alakazam. Sabrina's eyes followed her as she walked past.

"How mysterious…." Sabrina remarked. "I can't see into her future, neither can I see into her memories. I wonder if it means something ominous is going to happen…"

* * *

Ash was holding up a tape in his hand, which was stated that the year of the Trainer's Tournament was fifty, which would make it the second Quarter Anniversary. And the name of the victors were marked as the Dragon Duo, which disappointed Ash, as it didn't have the Dragon Duo's real names on it.

Ash had taken it from the box of tapes from the library earlier in the day, and since he had finished his sabotage job, he figured he could spend some time watching this tape.

He figured if he wanted to solve the missing Dragon Duo case, he had to get as much information about the Dragon Duo as possible. He had somewhat gotten over the fight he had with Pakura earlier.

" **I do want to see how the Quarter Anniversary works."** Pikachu stated, weighing the Dragon Duo's tape in his hand.

Ash agreed with Pikachu, and put in the tape, settling back in the couch and losing himself in the Fiftieth Trainers Tournament. A younger Ken Anderson, the current commentator of the Pokémon World Championship stepped out on the stage, followed by a young boy dressed in a white suit, holding a simple wooden box. He began speaking, to remind them of the system to pick a worthy ruler to take care of PAL, created by one of the previous rulers of PAL, and one of the requirements was for the person to win the Trainer's Tournament.

When the laws of this Trainer's Tournaments were laid out by a previous ruler, the said ruler also dictated that every twenty-five years the anniversary would be marked by a Quarter Anniversary. It would call for a glorified version of the Trainers Tournament to make battles much more interesting, and see if participants can overcome the odds the twist may give.

Ken went on to tell the audience what happened in the first Quarter Anniversary. "On the twenty-fifth anniversary, as a reminder that type disadvantages can be overcome with the right moves and strategies, each trainer is required to have a single-type team and must stick to the said type for the duration of the tournament. The type they choose to specialize in must be registered when they register for the tournament as well."

'A single type like the regional Gym Leaders and Elite Four members. Interesting.' Ash thought.

"And now, to honour the second Quarter Anniversary," Ken said, as the little boy stepped forward, holding out the box as he opened the lid. Ash could see the tidy, upright rows of yellowed envelopes. Whoever devised the Quarter Anniversary system had prepared for centuries of Trainer's Tournaments.

Ken removed an envelope clearly marked with a 50, and ran his finger under the flap, pulling out a small square piece of paper. Without hesitation, he read, "On the fiftieth anniversary, as a reminder that teamwork is required in Pokémon battles, each trainer is to find a partner to participate in the Trainer's Tournaments together, and both partners in the tag team must have the four complete symbols from the Battle Frontier in order to be able to register as a team. One tag team can win, which means there would be two winners."

The editors cut off to the preliminary rounds, and there was little time to focus on all the battles, but since the Dragon Duo were the victors, Ash got to watch all their battles in full.

The Dragon Prince wore a casual outfit that consisted of dark blue jeans and a white shirt, complete with a black jacket, and his Key Stone was in the form of a black bracelet that was on his left wrist. He was wearing sneakers that was dark blue on the bottom where the sole is, and black for the rest of the parts. His fringe was combed downwards, shadowing his face. Ash knew there was something dark and handsome about his appearance, as he noted the tape captured some envy written in the girls' faces for the Dragon Princess to be able to have him as a partner.

The Dragon Princess on the other hand was wearing a dress that was white from neck to chest and light pink down the rest. The outfit had white long sleeves (with lace cuffs at the end) and had a white bow tie on the chest part of the outfit. Her shoes were pink with bows on it. In other words, it was a typical Sweet Lolita outfit. Her black hair was let loose, and it reached slightly below her shoulders, and she wore a pink headband with a bow. Just like her partner, her fringe was also covering her face, but there was an undeniable sweetness about her appearance. Unlike the Dragon Prince, who didn't have a Pokémon outside the Pokéball, the Dragon Princess had one Pokémon on her shoulder, which was an Eevee, which made Ash wonder what Eevee evolved into later. Her Key Stone was in the form of a black choker that was on her neck.

Ash noted the pair only occasionally exchanged a glance with each other, and they seemed to know which moves their partner was going to use, which Ash knew it was probably due to their telepathy. Their moves were very synchronised, but Ash found out that the Dragon Princess stuck to defensive and supportive strategy when it comes to battle, while the Dragon Prince was all out offense.

'So that was why they made the perfect match.' Ash thought, jotting down some notes. 'The Dragon Prince attacks with his Pokémon all the way, and the Dragon Princess increases the power of those moves, and is able to cover for him by preventing opponents attacks from hitting the Dragon Prince's Pokémon.'

Ash knew it was going to be a long battle, as when they reached the semi-finals, each person can use six Pokémon, which meant that it was a twelve-on-twelve battle, which makes this Quarter Anniversary having the longest tag battle in history, and having used the most Pokémon in one battle.

The final match consisted of the Dragon Duo with two girls called Alexandra and Alison, who are twin sisters by the looks of it, with the same straight red hair, blue eyes, and olive skin. The way they behaved was also exactly the same.

"And here we are, the final match of the fiftieth Trainer's Tournament!" A commentator announced. "On the Green side, we have the Robertson twins, Alexandra and Alison! And on the Red side, we have what everyone dubbed them as the Dragon Duo, and this Duo had won their matches with either Dragon or Psychic Pokémon!"

'They must've requested for their names not to be revealed. They only grant this request to Trainers who are already a professional Hunter. That means….' Ash's gaze lingered on the cute girl that was known as the Dragon Princess. It was hard to believe that the Dragon Princess is already a Hunter at this point.

" **Then again, appearances can fool people. Look at Pakura, for instance."** Lucario pointed out, replying to a comment Pikachu had made about how surprising it was for the Dragon Princess to be a professional Hunter since she looked harmless.

"Volbeat/Illumise, I choose you!" The twins sent out the Firefly Pokémon, which was a counterpart to each other.

"Meowstic, take the battlefield!" The Dragon Duo shouted in unison, as the Dragon Prince sent out a female one, and the Princess sent out the male one.

"Let the battle begin!" A referee, not Evan, announced.

* * *

Ash paused the tape when the Dragon Duo had lost only three Pokémon (one from the Prince, two from the Princess) and the twins had lost half of their Pokémon (four from Alexandra and two from Alison), and went to his room for a shower, followed by his Pokémon just as the elevator dinged, and the three Elites came up, since the workers informed them it would take quite a while to fix the lights.

"We've said too much!" Jude ran his hand over his hair in frustration. "Now they are going to wonder what kind of training we do."

"Don't they do these kind of training for the G-men organization too?" Rosaline wondered.

Phillip shook his head. "Don't be naïve, Rosaline, even if you're a member of the G-men, they don't train as intensively as we do. I bet none of the G-men members can survive the Hunter's Exam….or their missions, for the matter. Sure, they know how to operate some weapons, but I bet even you can defeat them in close combat any day."

Everyone knew Rosaline was average at close combat, as she tends to fight while keeping a distance from her opponents, rather than being in close range, and usually relied more on kicks than punches, although her punch is powerful enough to send a person flying if they are not aware.

"I guess you're right." Rosaline nodded. "They are all curious about us since while we are world-famous, this is the first time they had met us in person, in addition they learnt about out Elite statuses and being the so-called hosts, they'll only ask questions about our lives."

"In fact, the Kalos Gym Leader Viola has a sister, Alexa, who's a journalist at Lumiose Press, and she's here to cover the Pokémon World Championships, and she is most likely granted a press pass for the event, as she is related to a participant. I think she might want to find out more about us to write in her articles as well. I don't know if she's the type to intrude in our privacy like the other regional reporters, but it's better to avoid her…and Viola if we can." Jude added.

"Right, but Jude, everyone knows you're the social butterfly in the Elite, and the Gym Leaders from Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh recognized Rosaline as one of their challengers of their Gym." Phillip pointed out. "If you two avoid them, they'll suspect were hiding something, and will try even harder to find out about us."

"I don't know how they still recognize me. I mean, none of the Gym Leaders even recognized Pakura, and she did accompany me to my Gym matches. What's more, she challenged their Gyms before, and some even saw her a second time when she came with me."

"No offence, Rosaline, but Pakura's physical appearance change more drastically than yours. You could've passed for a sixteen-year-old with your cute looks, and Pakura looks older than you. If I were an outsider, I'd think Pakura was the older one." Jude replied.

"In other words, you're saying she matured faster than me?" Rosaline pouted.

The boys nodded.

"Anyway, next time we talk to the guests, we better not say too much, lest we accidentally say something about Champion Red, and we'll all be doomed if they find out who he really is before we expose the murderers. While the Hunters Association and PAL region did not believe that Ash would kill his mother, the majority of the other regional people do, and would clamour for his arrest and execution. We can't let them win, and I, like Ash, want them to be humiliated, and be surprised when they realized who exactly defeated all four of us." Jude declared. "And none of us must ruin this. Especially you, Rosaline."

Phillip and Rosaline nodded, and Phillip noticed something on the television.

"Hey, what's this?" Phillip pointed to the frozen screen, which shows a scoreboard of 12 empty slots on each side, and it looked like the boy and girl pair was winning.

"Ash must've gotten the second Quarter Anniversary tape from the library, and is watching the Dragon Duo." Rosaline concluded. "He must've wanted information on the Dragon Duo before solving the case. He was assigned to it, after all."

"But, you're the Crime Hunter, shouldn't the job be assigned to you?" Jude wondered.

"I admit, yes, but the thing is, they have been missing for six years now. If the Head of Crime Department, who has eight years more experience than me, cannot even solve it, what makes you think I can? I doubt my psychic powers can locate them because I hear they are much stronger than me in terms of psychic power. Which was why they gave the case to Ash." Rosaline explained.

There are many Departments in the Hunters' Association, which was named after the type of Hunters there are. Usually, the best one would be selected as the Head of the said department. As Ash and Pakura had three stars in their field, naturally, they are the Heads of the Contract Department and the Blacklist Department respectively, but they had an Assistant Head, for they had other duties to commit themselves to. The other three, on the other hand, only had two stars (though Phillip was close to getting three), which was why they aren't the Heads.

The Department Heads usually had authority to handle incidents happening within their own department, and also put out members names to give another star or fire them and give reasons why, but these cases had to be reviewed by the members of the Zodiacs first, and if approved, the action requested would be taken. Otherwise, nothing would happen. The Department Heads can assign tasks and missions to their members, if they were given to them via a Zodiac member, but if the Chairman and Vice-Chairmen gives the case themselves, it means they had to handle the case by themselves, no questions asked.

When one first becomes a Hunter, they would automatically have to work for the Hunters' Association, which is another reason why being a Hunter is a dream of many locals, as it guarantees them a job, and a Hunter earns a lot of money due to the danger and risks, which many saw as an adventure. But, even then, there would be an exam to test if they are worthy of working for the Hunters Association in the first place, and there are four parts to the exam: an obstacle course that assess their physical condition, a written tactics and Pokémon facts exam, a test of weapons and Pokémon training proficiency, and a stimulated combat situation, where Trainers figure out how to protect their Pokémon.

If they fail, they would have to keep taking this exam until they pass. Once they do so, they had to choose a department as well, which meant they would be given a crash course on what each type of Hunters do. They had to choose carefully as once they chose it's permanent, and could never be changed. Should they make a decision, the Head of the chosen department would test them themselves, and decided if they pass or fail. If they pass, they are in. If not, they either train and come back in a month or choose another.

In other words, to be officially called a professional Hunter, one has to pass a total of three exams. The Hunter Exam to get the license, the Exam to get in the Hunters Association, and the Exam to get in their desired department.

"What are you guys talking about?" A bored voice asked, and they looked up to see Ash with his hair wet. Apparently, he had went for a shower.

"We're just wondering why Rosaline wasn't assigned to the Dragon Duo case." Jude replied.

"Now I think of it, which departments did the Dragon Duo work for?" Rosaline asked.

Ash checked the Dragon Duo file. "It was the Blacklist Department. The Dragon Prince was Head of that department for three years before he disappeared, and the position was given to…." Ash trailed off when he saw Pakura's name as the successor.

The Elite members looked at each other, wondering why Ash trailed off. In the silence that followed, delicious smells of their dinner came wafting from the dining room. "Come on, let's eat." said Rosaline. Jude and Phillip followed her to the dining room and took their places, while Ash went back to watching the tape, and started on the cream and rose-petal soup, while all their Pokémon started on their dinner as well.

'I wonder if Paku knows the Dragon Prince.' Ash thought, taking notes about the Dragon Duo's fighting styles. 'I'll ask her later.'

* * *

Pakura's mood lifted slightly as she just saw Brock and Trip carry an unconscious Max away from the forest. It looked like Max was attacked, and was left unconscious, though there were no signs of visible injuries. Not that she cared, because she was tired of him hitting on her, and asking her to date him. Like she would date a little boy, who apparently saw her as some trophy to be won, like all other guys. Why would she want a boyfriend who only saw her beauty, talent, fame and money?

And then there was Ash.

Pakura sighed, Ash really needed to wake up and face the reality. She doesn't really see what is so good about Champion Cynthia. Well, sure, she is beautiful, and she loves her own Pokémon like he does, and is kind and helpful as well to other Trainers, but at the end of the day, she still chose her image over a friend, not even hearing him out, and now she had put a bounty over Ash's head, which made Pakura call in her connections to help disguise Ash so they could travel around the regions without the police or G-Men on their trail.

Even Ash's CommuniDex was programmed by Phillip (requested by Pakura) to say, "I'm a CommuniDex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon Trainer Red Satoshi. My function is to provide Red with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen, I cannot be replaced" in order to avoid suspicion.

Pakura thought she did everything for him, taking him under her wing, training him alongside the other three at her request, even giving him Key Stones and Mega Stones so he could Mega Evolve his Pokémon, and acted like a mentor to him, while they travelled so Ash can win the six Pokémon Leagues. She even let him use her badges to register for the tournaments, as his has already been scanned years ago when he participated in all those Pokémon Conferences.

After that, she decided to reveal her status as the PAL Elite Four Leader to him once he had won the sixth one (which was supposed to be kept secret until the Pokémon World Championship), which was the Kalos League and told him that PAL doesn't have a Champion yet and hoped he'd challenge them, and become their Champion instead of taking the Kalos Elite challenge, as she could see he would be an asset to them if he became their Champion, with his abilities, achievements and whatnot. After Pakura revealed her status and the unique Pokémon League PAL had, Ash then decided to take on the PAL Pokémon League as well, and make his mark there, and had asked her to be his guide again.

" _I'll count on you then, Paku."_

That was what he had said.

During his journey in PAL, Pakura watched him become a full-fledged professional Hunter, winning all the Battle Frontier symbols (With his Latios to help him get there as all the Battle Frontier buildings are in different cities, and he knew where they are since Pakura told him), easily sweeping the competition in the 58th Trainer's Tournament (everyone still thought that year was especially exciting), and finally taking the Elite challenge.

Pakura did not expect Ash to be able to reach her, but there he was, facing her in her arena after taking the pink crystal elevator (decorated with icicle wings at the side of it) to where she was waiting at her personal arena. Neither did she expect her Sylveon to collapse before Pikachu did, which meant he became their very first Champion and dethroned her as PAL's Princess (but Ash decided that they should run PAL together).

" _But at the end of the day, he still loved the woman that had called the authorities on him, forcing him to run from Pallet Town to PAL, and tonight, he even stood up to her."_ Shiki said bitterly.

Pakura nodded. She wondered how long it would take before Ash takes her Princess title and gives it to Cynthia, so he can stay close to him. Maybe her Elite Leader status would be given to her as well, who knows.

" _Guess it's too late. We can do it, you know."_ Shiki said quietly.

"What?" Pakura asked.

" _Leave this place. Run off. Make a new life somewhere else. You and I, we can make it. You need to run after this tournament, you know what will happen if they catch you!"_ Shiki suggested.

"But…" Pakura trailed off.

" _Ash has shown ample times he can take care of himself, like you said."_ Shiki said firmly, knowing what she was thinking. _"I doubt he would notice even if you disappeared."_

"There's still a long time to go before the tournament ends." Pakura muttered. "Besides, what if we're found out? They are starting to notice something is wrong."

" _We won't."_ Shiki assured her. _"You need to be strong. That's why I chose you."_

Pakura opened her mouth to say something as sensed someone unfamiliar approaching. She turned to see a tall, slim boy, probably a young adult by the looks of it, with messy black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a pair of baggy grey pants, a black leather jacket, and a blue shirt with a white undershirt. He was also wearing a pale blue scarf.

Alain froze. Pakura's back was completely turned towards him, how did she know he was approaching from behind?

"Hello, Princess Pakura." Alain gulped nervously, still unnerved by the fact that she knew he was behind her without turning around.

Pakura nodded in greeting.

Alain heard that Pakura Ameyuri is something of a living legend in the world of Pokémon performances as first of all, she had won six Grand Festivals in a row, and all 40 Ribbons in her own region, making Wallace look like an amateur. It does help that she was an experienced battler in Battle Rounds, and in addition to her combinations having beauty, they also had power, which overwhelmed most of the Coordinators. He had heard that she was able to ruin combinations before they were even formed, and was able to react instantaneously to any moves an opponent may make, while making a beautiful combination, and usually, her opponents' points were drained quickly, or their Pokémon ended up knocked out by the sheer power of the moves.

He knew Pakura had won the Kalos Pokémon Showcase Master Class tournament when she was only ten, making her the youngest Kalos Queen the region has ever had, and the only one who kept her title for three consecutive years, before she decided to move on to compete in the PAL Showcases.

While other Pokémon Performers were hard-pressed to find a way to make themselves look great before their performances to impress the judges (although Pokémon Showcases aren't beauty contests, the best looking participants seem to gain more favour from the audience), or trying to figure out a way to keep the audience's attention during the Free Performance, Pakura never wanted for anything, instead spending more time on her training, rather than focus on her appearance, as that time she was already extremely adorable (when she was still participating in the Kalos Pokémon Showcases, she was considered cute as opposed to beautiful, and can charm the judges). She also did not care about the attention the audience had on her, so long as she had fun.

It took a while for her competitors to realize that despite her sweet appearance, she was the one to know how to do elegant but risky stunts perfectly in her Free Performance, but when they realized this, it was too late, and it was all over once she was done, and when the Master Class tournament ended, the crown was hers.

The audience had been drooling over her ever since.

The Kalos region were devastated when Pakura gave up Pokémon Performing in their region years ago, and some even stated she was the most brilliant performer they ever had. He never heard of her again until he arrived here, and that was when he realized she was in PAL all along, making her own mark in that region. It was also a surprise to him that when he came here, he learnt she was now a part of the PAL Elite Four, and the strongest member at that. He wondered if she was a Mega Evolution user, though he couldn't see her Key Stone.

Alain had to admit that Pakura was one of the most stunning, sensuous people on the planet. She was tall for a girl, and had a body many females would kill to have, with cream-coloured skin and eyes the shade of the precious amethyst gems.

"Can I help you?" Pakura coldly raised a brow, and Alain shivered at her icy tone.

"I was wondering the best place to train." Alain said, though he couldn't hide the fear in his voice.

Pakura's eyes looked down, and saw his Mega Ring which was in a form of a large black bracelet on his wrist.

'A Mega Evolution user, huh?' Pakura thought, looking at his Key Stone in mild surprise.

" _I think it's that direction. That is where they offer concealment so no one can see your training and it's relatively quiet there, so they can train in peace. There are also plenty of Berries to help restore your Pokémon's energy or cure a status ailment. If you are lucky, the wild Pokémon there can help you in your training, they are pretty friendly and powerful, as they do train by themselves."_

Shiki pointed to the said direction, and Pakura mimicked his movement. Alain thanked her, and left.

Shiki watched him leave with mild interest. _"I have a feeling his goal is for his Charizard to be the most powerful Mega Evolved Pokémon."_ Looking at Pakura's inquiring look, he said, _"I sensed Charizard's aura in one of his Pokéballs. It won't be the last time you're meeting him that's for sure. Once he realizes all of you are Masters of Mega Evolution, he is bound to ask for a battle. His first choice would be either you or Ash."_

Pakura nodded, just as a message beeped on her CommuniDex. It was from Phillip, stating the lights were fixed, and asked her to return to the Contest Hall to do a small appeal to test out the lightings.

"Come on, let's go." Pakura muttered, and Shiki followed behind.

* * *

"Gardevoir, return!" The Dragon Princess returned her fallen Embrace Pokémon, as the poison had taken its toll, and as a last ditch effort, used Destiny Bond, which the Dragon Princess had ordered because Gardevoir wasn't going to last long with the poison due to the type. Meinshao had fallen along with Gardevoir thanks to Destiny Bond.

At the scoreboard, it was indicated that the Dragon Princess already lost her fourth Pokémon, and would be at her fifth Pokémon, while the Prince lost three, and is now on his fourth. Meanwhile, the twins were down to their last two Pokémon, when the Dragon Prince finished off Alison's Musharna with a powerful Venoshock, thanks to his Dragalge. As the Pokémon was already poisoned, just like the Princess' Gardevoir, it dealt double damage.

"I wonder why they aren't commanding with their thoughts yet." Jude commented. The other three had joined him in watching the tape after their dinner was done.

Ash thought Jude had a point, as the Dragon Duo had not commanded with their aura or thoughts, despite being the strongest psychics in PAL. He wondered if they were holding back on the twins, as he wrote something in his notebook, and added a star next to it.

"Beats me. They were only using telepathy on each other, as far as I can tell." Rosaline was disappointed, as she knew they were better than her in terms of psychic powers and they weren't utilizing it in their battles.

"Even without them, they have strategies in battle the twins had trouble trying to read." Phillip added. "You have to remember those two did design some strategies in battle that was subsequently used by other trainers."

The twins were down to their last two Pokémon, and it was a Gardevoir for Alison, and a Gallade for Alexandra. The difference was, the two of them were wearing Mega Stones, and true enough, they pressed their Key Stones, and the two of them Mega Evolved into Mega Gardevoir and Mega Gallade respectively.

The Dragon Prince returned his Dragalge, and in unison, the two of them threw out their Pokéballs to reveal a Latios and Latias respectively. Just like Gardevoir and Gallade, they were wearing Mega Stones.

"Would you look at that?" The announcer exclaimed. "The Dragon Duo are in possession of the Legendary Eon Duo, Latias and Latios!"

"Interesting." The twins said in unison, as they noted that the Eon Duo were wearing Mega Stones as well.

"Let the battle begin!" The referee announced.

"Gardevoir, start things off with Moonblast!" As Moonblast was a Fairy-type move, Alison knew it would be super-effective on the Eon Duo, who was part Dragon type.

"Gallade, help out by using Shadow Ball!" Alexandra commanded.

The Dragon Duo made brief eye contact, and nodded, before turning back to their Pokémon. The Eon Duo waited until the very last second, before dodging both attacks.

"What?" The twins were surprised.

"They must've wanted to wait until the twins were down to their last Pokémon before they start to command with their thoughts, to make it easier to take down their last, and probably strongest, Pokémon and give them less time to be able to counter their telepathic commands." Phillip deduced.

'So I was right. They can command with their aura or thoughts, just like us, only they were holding back.' Ash thought, writing the word "Confirmed" next to the sentence he had written earlier. 'They have this match in the bag already.'

"Alright, then, Double Team!" The twins shouted in unison. Mega Gardevoir and Mega Gallade created multiple copies of themselves, which spread all over the arena, surrounding Latias and Latios, as all prepared to attack the Eon Duo with Shadow Ball once more.

Latios simply fired Dragon Pulses at one of the Mega Gardevoirs and Mega Gallades as Latias used Protect on both of them to deflect the Shadow Balls, and the copy the Dragon Pulses hit turned out to be the real ones, hence they were damaged and the copies all vanished.

Ash took note that the Dragon Duo, or at least the Dragon Prince, can detect the real Pokémon's location from the Double Team copies, just like them.

It was clear that the twins were getting frustrated at not being able to read the Dragon Duo's strategies, other than the fact that the Dragon Prince does most of the attacking, while the Dragon Princess covers for him. It didn't help that had the ability to telepathically communicate with their Pokémon and give commands without saying a word, which meant they can't tell how they would counter moves, or what attacks would come next.

"I think it's best to take out the Latias first." Alexandra whispered. "The girl is mainly defence after all." Alison nodded, and they decided to target the Latias first.

When they next attacked, the Dragon Princess realized they were both targeting her Latias, which forced her to call out an offensive attack to defend herself. The attacks met in the middle and exploded into a cloud of smoke.

Latios then attacked with a Luster Purge at Mega Gallade, who shot a Signal Beam back, but despite the power increase by Mega Evolution, it overpowered Signal Beam, and knocked Gallade back, but Gallade managed to fire a Shadow Ball to Latias. Gardevoir, meanwhile, shot a Moonlast, and both of them used Psychic on their moves to hit Latias. It was successful, as both moves collided with Latias, and exploded.

"Alright!" The twins high-fived each other.

"Latias!" The Dragon Princess shouted, panicking, as Latias' Latiasite suddenly emitted blue trails of light, and her Key Stone reacted to it, and Latias Mega Evolved into Mega Latias.

Ash took note of this special moment, writing it down in his notebook. Usually, it was the trainer that pressed the Key Stone, and the Mega Stone would react, causing Mega Evolution. This is the first time he saw the reverse happening. He wondered if he could lay the decision of Mega Evolution up to his Pokémon to give his opponents a surprise.

"How unexpected! It looks like Latias has sensed her trainer's distress and managed to get the Key Stone to react to the Mega Stone!" The announcer commented.

"Well, then, Latios, show them the power of our bond!" With that, he pressed his Key Stone, and Latios Mega Evolved into Mega Latios.

The moment they had used Mega Evolution, it was all over. Legendary Pokémon in general are still more powerful than non-Legendary Pokémon, no matter if Mega Evolution is used or not. With the use of Mega Evolution on Legendary Pokémon, the twins were basically screwed.

The Dragon Princess first used Recover to heal Mega Latias, before taking on Disarming Voice with Toxic, and it poisoned Mega Gardevoir. Meanwhile, Mega Latios countered Close Combat with Steel Wing, effectively landing some clean hits on Mega Gallade.

The Dragon Prince then called for a Draco Meteor, which damaged Mega Gallade badly. As expected, Mega Gardevoir was safe, but so was Mega Latias. The Prince explained that Mega Latias had used Reflect Type on Mega Gardevoir, and Reflect Type changes the user's type to match the type or types of the target, which means that Mega Latias was now a Psychic/Fairy type, thus immune to Dragon-type moves.

With that explanation finished, the Dragon Prince then made his attack, and Mega Latios finished Mega Gardevoir off by hitting it with Steel Wing multiple times. It didn't hurt that Mega Gardevoir was badly poisoned. Meanwhile, Mega Latias fired a Mist Ball at Mega Gallade, which sapped Mega Gallade's energy to do special attacks, and he was finished off with a double Shadow Ball, and the battle ended, with the commentator announcing the Dragon Duo's victory, as everyone was standing up to clap and cheer for the winners.

The Princess jumped into the Prince's arms, squealing about their victory, while the Dragon Prince simply gave a small smile as he hugged the girl tightly.

Ash clicked off the tape, and they sat in silence for a while.

Finally, Jude said, "One can tell that those two are very close. I'd eat my Purrloin if they weren't lovers by that time." He indicated to the TV. He earned himself a smack from Purrloin for the eating comment.

"I have a feeling, as long as they have each other, everything would be fine to them." Rosaline agreed.

"But the problem is, why would they vanish if they had everything going for them?" Phillip wondered

"Unless they didn't vanish at the same time." Ash said grimly. He was very sure that one vanished first and the other one did as well, presumably to find their partner.

The question is, who vanished first?

As they contemplated the unspoken question, Phillip's Pokégear rang with a message. It was from one of the Pokémon Contest crew, stating the lights were fixed.

"Well, we got to go. See you." Ash and Rosaline nodded, as Jude and Phillip left.

* * *

"Princess, we need you to make sure the lighting equipment is working fine. Would you do the honours by doing a small appeal?" One of the workers requested, as Pakura entered the Contest Hall after Jude did. Her Sylveon and Skitty ran up to her for a hug as soon as they saw her.

"Well, I'll make an announcement to everyone so they can come back and we can continue the Contest." Jude volunteered, as everyone nodded in agreement. With that, he left.

Eevee was watching the scene from behind the pillar, wagging her fluffy tail, imagining what it would be like to be under her ownership.

Pakura studied the lighting for a moment, before taking out a Pokéball.

"Roserade, time to shine!" She sent out the Bouquet Pokémon. Pakura never used Roserade for Elite challenges, she was specifically used for Contests and Pokémon Showcases, just like Milotic and Cinccino, as they did not fit her type speciality in Elite challenges.

"Start things off with Petal Blizzard, and get inside to use Dazzling Gleam." Roserade released multiple shinning heart-shaped blue petals, and sent it upwards, so that Petal Blizzard would fall and surround her. She then used Dazzling Gleam, which made the Petal Blizzard shine.

"Now, use Energy Ball, followed by Aromatherapy." The Energy Ball absorbed the petals and it flew upwards, creating a trail of petals behind it, and Roserade released a fragrant green powder from the roses on her hands, which made the move even more beautiful as it made the Energy Ball and Petal Blizzard sparkle.

"Finish it with Shadow Ball, Petal Dance, and Magical Leaf, and make sure the two combinations intercept!" The Shadow Ball, surrounded by Petal Dance, and propelled by Magical Leaf, clashed with the first combination, and exploded into pink, blue and green sparkles that dazzled everyone. Although to Pakura it may be a small appeal, to the audience, it was better than the Appeals they seen even on the Grand Festivals.

Pakura returned her Roserade when the sparkles faded.

"That was exquisite!" Wallace was awestruck by the (to Pakura) small appeal. "If it was seen on a Grand Festival, it's get high marks in an instant!"

"Very unique." Fantina was nodding in approval. "Wallace, I look forward to tossing a coin to see who can give and exhibition match along with Princess Pakura."

"I'm sure both of us hope we'll be the lucky one." Wallace chuckled.

Eevee, who was still hiding, was spellbound by the small Appeal, and her interest in performing, preferably alongside Pakura and her Pokémon, just increased, and with that thought, she ran out to the stage to start her performance.

"Ok, the lighting's fine." Phillip noted, but he yelped as an Eevee came running up to the stage under the lights, and began firing Shadow Balls to the sky, and followed by a Swift. However, they fell back down, and exploded around Eevee causing smoke all over the stage.

Pakura grabbed Eevee before she could use another attack.

" **What do you think of my performance?"** Eevee asked cutely to her captor.

Pakura blinked. Why was this Eevee asking her opinion?

" **I think she wants to perform as well."** Pachirisu commented to Phillip.

Pakura looked at Eevee, and considered her, before saying shortly, "Can be improved."

Eevee's eyes sparkled at the comment, and nuzzled her. **"Will you improve my performance?"**

Pakura looked at Eevee in disbelief, and then it dawned on her that she was the same Eevee she saw dancing earlier. So Eevee had a dream of performing on stage one day, which supposedly makes Eevee a good addition to her team, as she is a Pokémon Coordinator and Performer.

Before Pakura could answer, however, the audience filed in, causing her to carry the little Eevee to sit at the judges' table, much to her delight.

A few hours later, when Pakura promptly left as soon as the last Appeal was over, she weren't aware that the Eevee she left behind hopped off the table and went after her.

* * *

"Why wouldn't he wake up?" May was worried for her bother. Adding to the fact that she was still shocked over her humiliation didn't help. Her dad had just left their Pokémon Center room after visiting his son and comforting his daughter, promising to investigate on what happened to Max and the mystery behind her humiliation and her blotted performance.

"It beats me." Misty felt for a fever, but found nothing. "What had happened in the forest?"

Iris sighed. She wished she had the ability to read the memories of humans as well, not just Dragon-type Pokémon. But alas, her abilities only go so far.

A sobbing noise interrupted, and Iris turned to the girls, who was still shocked about their humiliation. Dawn was still crying over her humiliation.

"Hey, cheer up, I think your Appeals went great in the end, even if there were a few setbacks." said Misty comfortingly. "I bet your pictures would be the first to appear."

"I'm still behind Zoey, though." Dawn forced out a laugh.

"You're almost as good as a Top Coordinator, Dawn." Trip assured her. "After all, you made it to the Final Round, and you only lost by a few points in the finals in your very first Grand Festival."

Dawn managed a watery smile.

"Hey! What about me?" May protested.

"I think your title says it all, Princess May." Cilan interrupted with a joke, without looking up from the magazine he got from the lobby. He wanted to borrow the tapes that showed something called a Trainer's Tournament so he could get a picture of what the PAL Elite were capable of, but unfortunately, someone else must've had the same idea, as the box of tapes were all taken, including the Pokémon Contest (past Grand Festivals were even included) ones, and he had to resort to magazines, and found little information on their battling styles.

"Hey guys, I brought Margherita Pizza for a snack." Brock entered the room carrying a pizza box. "I figured we can watch a movie while eating this, to help relax."

The others eagerly got the pizza off Brock's hands, and Misty went to select a movie.

* * *

'I guess I have a clear picture on how they battle, and recognize them based on their battling styles.' Ash thought. 'I'll go for a walk, it might clear my head.' Since it was already 11 plus, it's highly unlikely anyone would outside at the time, so it can give Ash some time to mull over things.

Pikachu and Lucario, realizing their owner was about to leave the Tower, followed him and ran into the elevator, just as he pressed the elevator button to the lobby.

Ash walked through the picturesque garden, a cool breeze brushing against his hair, with his two partners, contemplating the current situation.

Ash did not understand why Pakura had to be so rude to Cynthia, as evidenced by what happened during dinner. To make things worse, when she came back, she simply threw her bag on the living room couch, crossed to her room, and closed the door before Ash could even request her to apologize to Cynthia. Pakura slamming the door means no one should disturb her, or they'll be in for….well, let's just say it's s surprise you never want to find out about.

Sure, she did turn him in to the authorities all those years ago, but it's because she had no choice, he told himself. He convinced himself that Cynthia has changed over the years, and a second chance should be given to her. He had loved Cynthia, and knew she would never do anything without a reason. Pakura's judgement of Cynthia is also questionable, as being a Blacklist Hunter (and the Head of the Blacklist Department), she has an extremely revengeful personality. Ash had the impression she had never loved in her life, knowing only how to hate others.

He knew when it comes down to it, she'd choose revenge first.

Ash doesn't want Cynthia to suffer from his revenge. After all, he loves her.

It occurred to him that when he had mentioned this to the others, the others looked like they had wanted to side Pakura over this. He could tell by the way they looked at one another.

'Must've been because they knew her longer than me.' Ash thought, inwardly sighing. How could he convince them Cynthia has a good heart, she was just misguided?

And then there was the mysterious user of Scarlet Anger, alive and somewhere in PAL.

Apparently, according to the _Pokémon Facts: PAL Edition_ the user can rarely control the full extent of their abilities, and as such their subconscious will often regulate that power, leading to their personality being eaten away as well, in addition to their mental state and physical state, and it would eventually turn the individual into a monster that's a danger to everyone around them.

Because of the strain this ability gives the body, and the many side effects, Scarlet Anger is classified under Forbidden Abilities, which usually means to be cautious when using it, as the abilities listed under the category is very dangerous when used. Ash knew the person mentioned in the prophecy was an experienced user, considering the poem mentioned their eyes were already permanently red.

He was snapped out of his reverie when a voice called out "Hey, Red!"

Ash turned in surprise to see his friends, Gary and Paul.

Ash raised an eyebrow, as if to ask, "What are you doing out here late in the night?"

"Well, we're taking a walk, like you. Nature of this place seems to give us an inner sense of peace. Surely you must feel the same way?" Paul asked Ash, falling into step beside him with Gary.

Ash nodded, as Gary went on, "Tracey is busy in his room sketching sceneries based on this region. He was so amazed by the beauty of the environment. He has expressed an interest to meet up with Rosaline sometimes and talk about their drawings and maybe get some inspiration from her, after all, she is his Art Idol. Do you think you can arrange that?"

Ash nodded again, indicating he would arrange the meeting.

"What do you have there in your notebook?" Paul enquired, looking at the notebook on Ash's hand.

"Notes on the Dragon Duo." Ash mumbled.

"Why would you need notes on them?" Gary was curious.

Ash gave a look, before answering, "I was assigned to their disappearance case. They disappeared six years ago."

"So you were getting information on them for the case, huh?" Paul nodded in understanding.

"Yeah." Ash replied.

"What did you get so far?" Gary asked.

Ash handed them his notebook, and they read what Ash had written.

"Where did you get all these information from?" Paul questioned.

"From the library. They have old tapes of the Trainer's Tournament there." Ash replied, as he took back his notebook. "I plan to go to the Internet and see if I can find any exhibition matches between the two, as I hear they did give an exhibition match for one of the Trainer's Tournaments."

"Anything else you would like to tell us?" Gary asked.

Ash showed them the clip that Pakura had sent over this morning.

"Well, that explains it. They were seen getting dresses so you took it as an opportunity to humiliate May and Dawn. Am I right?" Gary voiced out his suspicions.

The corner of Ash's mouth curled up into a smirk.

"I would say it was a bit extreme, taking away a girl's dignity like that, but then again, you have changed a lot, no thanks to them." Paul remarked nonchalantly. "So they are trying to take your Pokémon, am I right?"

"Pretty much." Ash shrugged.

"Do you want us to handle them?" Gary offered.

"Although I know my Elites can handle them by themselves, it'll be nice to know I'll have backup." Ash nodded, leaving them to look at each other with evil smiles on their faces, already planning on how to get back at them.

"Rosaline's ability has shown itself today as well." He showed the poem that Rosaline had written earlier. Paul and Gary read the poem, apprehension on their faces becoming more prominent as their eyes went lower.

"Someone is definitely out for revenge, but against who or why is unknown." Paul said thoughtfully. "And it looks like the Prince the person in the poem is referring to is you."

"I wonder…." Ash mumbled. It could be anyone, ranging from the Dragon Prince, or even Lance, as people from PAL occasionally calls him the Blackthorn Prince.

"We'll help you in any way we can, Ash." Gary nodded.

Ash nodded.

* * *

When Ash returned, there was a package that was addressed to him. Using his aura, he tried to detect for any traps, but found none. He wondered when the package got there, but it must've been after everyone went to their rooms as otherwise, they would've had informed him.

He opened the package, and to his surprise, inside sat an Egg case, and in the Egg, it sat a pale grey Egg. There was a note in it that said: _I figured you might like this Egg to take care off, Champion Red….or should I say Champion Ash. Yes, I know who you are, no need to hide. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone…yet. But you better take care of this Egg, or your identity would be busted._

Ash clenched his teeth when he saw the note. What was this person playing at? He didn't recognize the handwriting either.

The first thought was one of the Psychic specialists. But that was impossible, as his Indomitable Will enabling him to be immune to all forms of temptation, including psychic powers. So there was no way they would be able to tell his real identity, as not even Rosaline was able to break it.

But what about the Dragon Duo? Their psychic powers were exceptional, even stronger than Rosaline's. He had never met a psychic stronger than the Dragon Duo. And assuming they did use their psychic powers to find out about him that means….

It dawned on Ash that at least one member of the Dragon Duo is somewhere in PAL.

Ash frowned, as he saw movement in the bag Pakura thrown on the couch, and he opened the bag, only to see an Eevee panting as she jumped out of the bag.

" **Thanks, I was beginning to suffocate. It's so stuffy in there."** Eevee panted.

"What are you doing in there?" Ash gave her a funny look, knowing Pakura doesn't own an Eevee.

Eevee gave a sheepish look, and told him that when Pakura was cleaning herself up in the dressing room, she took the opportunity to sneak in the bag full of clothing her stylist had sent her, in hopes she would take her back to her Tower, and maybe catch her, as she had taken a liking to her.

Ash sighed, but he went to get two bowl, and filled the bowls with Pokémon food and water, and even a Poképuff as dessert, which Eevee happily gulped down. Her eyes shone in delight at the Poképuff.

"Why don't you spend the night in my room?" Ash offered, after he had cleared the bowls away. "I can take you to her in the morning."

Eevee nodded in happiness, as she bounded to Ash, and let him take her to his room for the night.

* * *

Somewhere, the Dragon Princess sat in the cave, looking towards the exit. She held a wine glass on her hand, which was half full from liquor.

"I wonder if he received my gift yet." A smile curled on her lips, as she was the only one who knew the Egg came from the two Meowstic she had. Known to be stronger than even Rosaline in terms of psychic power, it'll be an insult if she can't uncover deceptions, like Red's real name. Actually, he's just using his middle names as his alias, but then again, how many people know his full name, and his actual first name, as Ash is a shortened version of it.

She heard footsteps, and turned to see her Dragon/Psychic Pokémon, her Espeon taking the lead.

The Dragon Princess wasn't stupid. She knew the Scarlet Anger was eating away at her mental health, her life and her personality. It was only a matter of time before she completely loses herself. The only thing she can save was her physical health, thanks to her healing powers.

Espeon glared disapprovingly at the wine glass on her hand. **"You really should stop this habit. It isn't helping your health, with your Scarlet Anger. You'll die at this rate."**

"That won't be so bad." The Dragon Princess mused, her red eyes glittering with morbid amusement. "Knowing Champion Ash, he'd find out who I am before the tournament ends. The question is, what would he do?"

The Dragon Princess had written the poem word for word, and passed the paper for her Pokémon to read. "This is the prophecy that Rosaline made earlier in the day. Apparently, she had this prophecy making ability that is never wrong, but only comes out when they are in danger, to warn them what they may face in the future."

" **Does that mean….?"** Garchomp was asking, but trailed off. Nevertheless, the Dragon Princess knew what he wanted to ask.

Her eyes glowed red, as she said, "The PAL Elites may be powerful, but so am I. They will find out that I would do anything to keep my secret. Anything."

 **BP: And I'll end it here. I want to thank all the readers who threw in suggestions that made my 12,000 word quota possible.**

 **I'll explain a few things as well, so please read (it's quite important)**

 **First of all, because of this story's pairing, Pakura is definitely deuteragonist in the story. That is why she had more appearances despite the fact that she doesn't really say anything in the story, unless when needed, and why she seemed to have more screen time than in the original is because she is going to be Ash's love interest. I apologize if this chapter seemed to be centred on Pakura. I'll try to feature her less if that's what you guys want.**

 **Sorry for featuring the Dragon Duo a bit too much. That was because Ash needed information on them, and I wanted to give my readers a glimpse on how they battle (although it looked more like ramblings).**

 **This is also definitely an Ash x Pakura story, only Ash is still in love with Cynthia. It might take something big to happen to Pakura for Ash to wake up (hint, hint)**

 **I'm trying my best to give Paul, Gary and Tracey more spotlight as while they are not one of the main characters, they are supporting characters and they do play a role in the story as well (well in a sense, they help Ash). I might feature the regional Professors in the story as well.**

 **The other traitors WILL be humiliated, in one way or another. Suggestions on how to torture the traitors would be welcome.**

 **Also, school has started, and my assignments are very heavy, so I would not be able to update every two weeks like during holidays. This chapter is actually hastily written so it might not be as good. I had a little writer's block as I had to focus my energy to write reports and think of ideas to do assignments.**

 **If you guys think this chapter bad, it's ok. Sometimes I have no idea what I'm writing either.**

 **But do give me suggestions on the following (Pretty please):**

 **1\. What do you want to see in the next chapter**

 **2\. How should we humiliate the rest of the traitors (I have no idea how to humiliate the males, actually)**

 **3\. Do you want at least one traitor to be tortured into insanity (thus the person won't be able to be convicted, but the person would be confined to mental hospital or something, or do you prefer all to be convicted and humiliated? If it is the former, who do you want to be tortured? And who should be the torturer?**

 **4\. What Paul and Gary should do to unnerve the traitors?**

 **5\. Do you think the Dragon Princess should lose her Scarlet Anger ability?**

 **6\. Who should I pair with Jude (Sabrina, Elesa or Valerie)**

 **7\. Do you think Alain should play a bigger role in the story? And how?**

 **8\. What other differences do you think I can make from the first story? (for those who had read the first one as well)**

 **Please give me as many suggestions, opinions and reviews as possible! *Gives puppy eyes***


	5. The dream, Tag Battles Day 2, the weapon

**BP: Yup, it's only been a few weeks, but my assignments are really heavy and I need all the time I can get to finish these assignments, and my time is very tight, so please forgive me. The good thing is, mysterypink98 has opened a Deviantart page to help you answer the questions you may have about this region we have created. You can check out her first post here:**

 **mysterypink98 . deviantart journal / First-post-571151169 (remove the spaces)**

 **And do comment your questions at the above link in the comments section in her page, and we will try our best to answer them so you would understand more about the flow of the stories that takes place in my fanmade region.**

 **Note: mysterypink98 may not be able to answer all the questions because I am the one writing the chapters. She contributes by giving ideas.**

 **Also, please check out the wikia I had created and either mysterypink98 or I would be posting the character profiles and their Pokémon team, along with pictures in that site.**

 **Information of major aspects of our region would also be put there (but most of the posts will be written by me). I will also design promotional posters for stories that will take place in that region, and post it there.**

 **If you like, you can help contribute to this wikia, and add information I may have missed while writing the story. Here is the link:**

 **pal - series. wikia wiki/PAL_Series_Wikia (remove spaces)**

 **P.S: I'd be grateful if you all can help me arrange the pages neatly.**

 _Ash found himself to be in a garden that is similar in appearance to one of the famous paradise gardens found all over PAL. He was in the middle of a sweet-smelling green meadow, and the sky was azure blue, with fluffy, billowing white clouds. The meadow stretched for miles, and there was a forest on one side, and a clear stream on the other. There were plenty of flowers growing all around him._

 _He wondered where he was, since Pikachu and Lucario are not with him, and none of his Pokéballs are with him either._

 _"Ash, you've grown!" A woman's voice could be heard from his right._

 _He turned and gasped. "Mum?" He whispered._

 _"Come give your mum a big hug." Delia said, as she opened her arms. Without hesitation, Ash threw himself in his mother's arms. As soon as he did, she whispered, "I am so proud of you, my baby boy. Your dream of becoming Champion has come true! And not just any region, it was the most prestigious region!"_

" _I'm sorry, mum, that you had to go through what they did." Ash muttered. "It was my fault."_

" _No, Ash, it is not your fault, and it never was. They were the ones at fault." Delia said firmly._

" _Mum…did you know about the disappearance of the Pallet Town residents?" Ash asked hesitantly._

 _Delia hummed thoughtfully. "Yes, but they are not dead, if that's what you mean. In fact, they are doing quite well, and is waiting for you to reveal yourself so they can come out and testify against the murderers without backlash. I am guessing you have an ally somewhere."_

 _Ash was perplexed. Whoever did it must've thought he was innocent. It must've been someone from PAL, as the locals believed he was innocent._

 _"My time is up. Ash, promise me, no matter what happens, you must stay strong."_

 _Ash nodded. "I will."_

" _And one more thing." His mother said as she started to fade._

 _Ash stared at her, wanting to embed the image of his mother in his brain forever._

" _Uncover the deceptions, and find out who truly loves you."_

Ash sat up on the bed, gasping. His head was in a turmoil. What had his mother meant by finding out who had truly loved him? Didn't Cynthia love him for who he is? He had known his mother for all his life, until she was killed six years ago. If she had been watching him, wouldn't she not say anything if he wasn't in danger of falling for someone who didn't love him at all? Or was it just a warning not to stray away? He knew he had the ability to have many visions in the form of dreams, which told him the events of the past (sometimes, the past that he saw in his dreams wasn't his). Other times, he had dreams of people, dead or alive, talking to him.

He checked the clock. It was only 3am, and he still had a few more hours before everyone wakes up for breakfast.

Without waking his Pokémon and the little Eevee that was sleeping on the basket he had provided, he went to the sitting room to clear his head, and to his surprise, he found Pakura sitting at the couch reading a book. He wondered if he should even speak to her, considering the events that had happened earlier in the evening.

"What are you doing up?" Ash asked, raising his eyebrow.

Pakura calmly put a bookmark (which Ash saw it was shaped like a Sylveon), closed her book, and shifted to face him. "I could ask you the same thing." She replied coolly.

"I can't sleep." Ash replied. "Nightmare."

"Want to talk about it?" Pakura asked.

Ash figured it could not hurt to tell his Leader, and proceeded to tell her everything about the dream that he had, and the conversation he had with his deceased mother in detail. He did not notice that Pakura had a flicker of "This can't be!" look on her eyes for a split second before it disappeared when he got to his mother telling him about the missing residents of Pallet Town.

"So, are you going to try and find them?" Pakura asked.

Ash looked thoughtful. "Well, my mum said they are well, so I figure I'll find them after I solve the case of the Dragon Duo. I have a feeling that the Dragon Duo is connected to PAL's mysteries somehow." That was what his intuition told him, and his hunches are usually so accurate they seem to border on premonition, and he wondered if it had to do with his psychic powers, as he had never been wrong so far. The others, even Rosaline, usually trust his hunches to be true.

Pakura inwardly sighed in relief when Ash said it, as she reached for her cup of cocoa, drinking it.

"There is also an interesting note I received tonight." Ash handed her the piece of paper.

Pakura frowned as she read the note. "Well, Ash, it looks like whoever wrote this definitely possesses psychic powers. How else would they find out your secret?"

Ash sighed. "I thought I was immune to psychic powers, with my Indomitable Will and all."

"In a sense, yes. You are immune to Mind Control, Mind Reading, Memory Manipulation and illusionary techniques via psychic power. However, you're not immune to clairvoyance abilities, where they have the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through extrasensory perception. Only those with Psychic Shields can counter it, and even so, it's only to a certain extent." Pakura explained.

"How did you know?" Ash asked.

"I read a lot." Pakura replied curtly. "Also, the Dragon Duo are great clairvoyants, so my bet is that one of them sent you the Egg. How or why I don't know, but yeah."

Ash nodded. Pakura definitely had a point there.

"Speaking of the Dragon Duo, I'd like to ask you something." Ash went on.

"Hmm?" Pakura made a noise of acknowledgement.

"Do you know who the Dragon Prince is?" Ash asked.

Pakura gave him a funny look. "What makes you think I know him?"

"According to the information in the file I got from William, the Dragon Prince was the Head of Blacklist Department before you. When he disappeared, you became the successor." Ash replied calmly.

"Oh, that." Pakura said. "Don't ask me, we don't see the Head of Department much, or the Assistant Head for the matter, as that position was the Dragon Princess'. Apparently that second-in-command position was created so they can share their workload, in addition to running the region. I don't even see them at work."

"How come?" Ash asked.

Pakura sighed, and explained. "They always took work home. We corresponded through letters, not in person though. It changed when one day I was called to William's office, and he just told me I was the new Head of Department. End of story."

'So the Dragon Princess was the Assistant Head of Department. Interesting.' Ash thought. What a lot of interesting things Ash was learning about the Dragon Duo today. But then again, Ash supposed it made sense, as the Dragon Duo was very close to each other and all, and of course, would want to spend as much time with each other as possible.

"Well, maybe that dream meant you are still shaken over your mother's death. I know a family member's death is usually hard, but that just means you need to become stronger, in their memory. I doubt your mother would want you to mope." Pakura concluded.

"Now I think of it, how did your family die, Paku?" Ash was curious, as he never heard her mention her family until the day the tournament started.

"I don't want to talk about it." Pakura replied curtly. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she headed back to her room, closing the door behind her, which auto-locked.

'I wonder who killed her family. That's the only reason why she won't say a word.' Ash thought, before returning to his own room to try and get some sleep. 'That is probably why she evaded the question.' It was half an hour later before he found sleep, but the rest of his slumbers were filled with disturbing dreams. He was being arrested and tried by the PAL jury, and he was found guilty, and his former friends were cheering and mocking him, while Cynthia didn't bother to look at him. Even his Elites didn't believe him. He was back in Pallet Town, listening to his mother's screams ringing in his ears as someone stabbed her again and again. Ash bolted up screaming at the stabber to stop as his house exploded into blazes of fire. His yells woke Pikachu and Lucario up in the process.

 **"What's wrong, Ash?"** Pikachu yawned, lifting his head to look at Ash.

" **Did something happen?"** Lucario stretched himself, and rubbed his eyes.

Eevee also woke up, tilting her head in concern.

"No, bad dream, that's all." Ash sighed, once he realized it was just a nightmare.

Dawn was breaking through the windows. PAL seemed to have a misty, haunted air about it today. He had a headache and he must had bitten his check during the three and a half hours of sleep he had. His tongue probed the ragged flesh and he tasted blood. Slowly, Ash dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, and cleaned his teeth. Once he was clean, he wore a black shirt with jeans that fit his form perfectly, along with a dark blue vest. He took his Pokéballs and his Pokémon Egg, and headed to the dining room with Pikachu, Lucario and Eevee. He saw that Pakura's Pokémon are already out eating breakfast (much to Eevee's delight, as she made her way towards Pakura's Sylveon), and sent out all his Pokémon to join them. While the table was empty, there was a long board off to the side that held at least twenty dishes.

Ash loaded a plate with eggs, sausages, batter cakes covered in thick orange preserves, hash browns and some French toast with added maple syrup. As he gorged himself, he watched the sun rise over the PAL region. He then had a second plate of pancakes with maple syrup (again). Finally, he got some rolls and is dipping it in hot chocolate bit by bit, the way he sometimes saw Pakura eat when they were travelling.

His mind wandered to the events that had happened over the past two days. Today was the third day he was in Luonto City, and yet so much had happened. First off, he met up with his past again, and is struggling to keep from just kidnapping them to the torture chamber or something, second was trying to create some sort of relationship with Cynthia while gaining the approval of the other Elites (he could tell from their eyes none of them approved of her), third was the mysteries, the fourth was the Dragon Duo's case.

He was also having the impression that Pakura is hiding something from him, but what is it?

The other three Elites came out of their room, bided Ash good morning, set up breakfast for their Pokémon so they can send out their Pokémon to eat, and started to fill their plates with various food. Like Ash, they themselves were also wearing different outfits as well.

"Hey, what's up with the new Egg?" Phillip nodded towards the Egg case that was sitting on the table.

"Someone sent it last night." Ash mumbled, dunking his roll in his hot chocolate, and munching on it. "Here's the note." He trusted the paper at them, and they gathered to read the note.

A crease appeared on Jude's brow. "Wait, so this person knows your identity?"

"It appears so." Ash nodded absent-mindedly. "Paku says that it may be one of the Dragon Duo that had sent the Egg. According to Paku, the Dragon Duo are great clairvoyants, which explains why the person would know my identity. So it can be either the Dragon Prince or the Dragon Princess who sent me the Egg."

"Oh yeah, that makes sense." Rosaline agreed. "I kind of envy them for being clairvoyants you know. I've always wanted to become a clairvoyant."

"Don't know what you're jealous about." Phillip remarked. "You have the ability to foresee the future, or gather insights into future events, through various means. You were never wrong in your predictions so far."

"Thanks Phillip." Rosaline laughed. "But you know my ability only appears when grave danger is approaching. Someday, I want to be able to open my Inner Eye to see the future, and use my prophetic abilities anytime I want."

Ash nodded distractedly, as he sipped his hot chocolate. While it was true her prophecies are never wrong, the frustrating thing is she cannot activate it by herself. He thought if Rosaline were to be able to make prophecies for anyone anytime, she would be highly esteemed by the PAL region, and probably make a fortune out of the predictions she can make.

Rosaline paused to eat her stew, before asking, "Ready for the next round?"

"Of course." Jude replied shortly. "Can't wait to find out who our next opponents are. Who would you guys go with this time?"

Rosaline looked thoughtful. "I'll go with Gothitelle, Delphox and Typhlosion this time."

"Well, I'm sure my Zebstrika, Klinklang and Wormadam would like a chance to shine." Phillip looked over to the mention three, who cheered when they heard they were going to battle.

"I guess I'll be going with Weavile, Mandibuzz and Starmie." Jude said. "What would you go with, Ash?"

"I'll be going with Umbreon, Spiritomb, and Talonflame." Ash ticked off as he finished his breakfast, and sat back with a sigh, but he trailed off when the elevator dinged, and the others turned to see Cynthia on their floor. They watched as she smiled at the group, and approached their table. She then sat down next to Ash, and began to fill her plate.

"Cynthia, what are you doing here?" Jude plucked up the courage to ask.

"Having breakfast with my boyfriend, what else?" Cynthia giggled. Ash blushed, it's not as if he's complaining, he liked it actually. But isn't it a bit too soon to even consider it, as they haven't even been on an official date? The three Elites looked at one another, and shook their heads. They lost their appetite the moment Cynthia came in. In fact, Rosaline looked at her food that was left with a few bites, and pushed her plate aside.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" Cynthia asked, oblivious to the tension she had caused.

"Just talking about what Pokémon we're going to use." Ash replied, yawning.

"Oh! I'll be using Togekiss, Roserade and Lucario!" Cynthia exclaimed.

'Nobody asked you.' Phillip thought, looking at Cynthia with obvious contempt, but he turned around at the ding of the elevator, and Pakura stepped in, running a hand through her hair. Ash noted that she was wearing a white top with a light pink jacket, complete with a black skirt. Ash blushed as he realized the top showed off the full size of her bust, the jacket was nipped in at the waist to reveal her hourglass figure, and the skirt definitely accentuated her shapely bum well.

Cynthia looked Pakura up and down, rage clearly shown in her features. Pakura, as soon as she saw Cynthia, narrowed her eyes as well, though it was more of a thoughtful way rather than an angry way.

'Well, one thing I can say about Cynthia is that she acts fast.' Pakura thought, as a brown blur came running to her, yipping in excitement, and jumped into her arms. Pakura looked down to see an Eevee smiling up at her.

"Whose Eevee is this?" Pakura asked, eyebrows still knitted with thought.

"It's a wild one. It was in your bag you threw on the couch." Ash replied.

"You snuck into my bag, didn't you?" Pakura looked down at the Eevee, and frowned.

" **Yup!"** Eevee happily wagged her fluffy tail.

" **It looks like she wants you to be her trainer."** Her Sylveon remarked. Eevee excitedly turned to Sylveon and nodded vigorously.

'I don't get why Pokémon like her, with her personality.' Cynthia scoffed inwardly, looking enviously at the adorable Eevee who wanted to be with Pakura. True, she had a Glaceon already, but it won't hurt to add another Eeveelution. She was hoping to add either an Espeon or a Sylveon to her team.

"She's hell-bent on being caught by you, huh?" Rosaline went over to Pakura to put a distance between her and Cynthia. The two boys, seeing Rosaline's actions, immediately followed her, which left Ash alone with Cynthia at the table. The three privately agreed that between staying near Cynthia and near Pakura, they choose the latter any day. Sure, Pakura doesn't talk much and when she does it is usually snarky, sarcastic or toneless, at least she wasn't destructive like Cynthia.

Why did Ash even waste his time with her is a wonder to them, as Rosaline, being the psychic, knew that Cynthia was just trying to get close to him for her own benefit, and probably saw Ash as a trophy to be won. Who wouldn't want such a handsome, strong, rich and extremely influential person as a boyfriend?

Pakura, however, had other plans. She subtly nodded to her Gardevoir, and Gardevoir used Psychic on the breakfast dishes, levitating them over Cynthia's head. Before Ash could even react, Gardevoir dropped her Psychic, and the dishes fell on Cynthia, dirtying her clothes and her silky blonde hair. The other three Elites covered their mouths to hide their laughter at the scene, though they did not know who did it, on account that Pakura's Gardevoir was behind them when she did the deed.

"What the-?" Cynthia stood up in shock, as she looked down at the food stains that was now littering her clothes. She tried to pick toast bits out of her hair as well, but it ended up digging deeper into her scalp. Ash rushed over to try and help clean her up, but all he did was smudge her clothes. Eventually, Cynthia slapped his hand away, and rushed for the elevator for a shower and a change of clothes.

Ash rounded on his four Elites. "Ok which one of you did it?" He hissed.

Jude, Phillip and Rosaline looked at one another, but seeing each other somehow made them burst out into snickers once more. Pakura, however, remained expressionless.

Ash glared at his laughing Elites. "One of you did it, and I know it." He scowled.

"Really, I didn't do anything!" Jude raised his hands in surrender. "Was it you, Rosaline?"

Rosaline shook her head in the negative.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really, Rosaline? I thought it may be you, considering you have telekinesis."

"No, really, it wasn't me. Maybe Phillip used his invention or something." Rosaline replied.

"Nope, not me." Phillip showed the others that his hands are empty and do not have any devices whatsoever.

"One of you is lying." Ash glared at the three of them. It was apparent the four of them thought another one of their laughing members had done the prank.

Meanwhile, Pakura was just watching the argument unfold, safe in the knowledge that no one suspected her. Beside her was Eevee happily nuzzling her legs. She checked the CommuniDex for the time, and decided to stop the argument by blowing a whistle, which stopped everyone mid-sentence.

"That's enough." Pakura said coldly. "We have a match to go to, and I do not want to go the Battle Arena with you squabbling like a bunch of kids."

"Sorry, Pakura." The three Elites said in unison.

Ash rolled his eyes. Good thing he had Pakura to set things straight.

When they left the Tower (with the wild Eevee tagging along and Ash taking his Egg case), Ash briefly caught a glimpse of the Coordinators that would be moving on to the Battle Rounds on the television screen in the Pokémon Center, and gleefully noted that May and Dawn aren't among the participants.

He could've sworn he heard an enraged scream in the distance, but thought nothing of it.

* * *

" **Looks like you and Pakura are going first this time."** Lucario remarked to Ash, who was staring at the board impassively, while carrying his Egg case. According to the board, it looked like he and Pakura were up against Trip and Max this time. Ash was sure that Trip and Max would not make it to the Top 128, not if he had anything to say about it.

"It looks like I'm against Sidney and Aaron." Rosaline looked at the board, frowning because she knew she was at a type disadvantage against Sidney, especially since Dark-type Pokémon is immune to Psychic moves, unless Miracle Eye is used.

"What's wrong, Phillip?" Jude asked the inventor, who had somewhat of a sour look to his face. Phillip jerked his head towards his picture, and it looked like he and Malva were up against Lenora, the Gym Leader of Nacrene City, and a young adult. Ash spared a glance and recognized him as Tyson, the one who had won the Ever Grande Conference eight years ago.

Phillip looked at the boy's picture with disdain. "He's a guy from my hometown. Apparently won the Ever Grande Conference eight years ago. Because of that, he became the pride and joy of Mauville City." He said the last sentence with a slight sneer.

Rosaline and Jude looked at each other. It was no secret that Phillip despised the people from his hometown in general due to being neglected by his family and being isolated by his peers unless they are taunting him. He had never returned to Mauville City ever since he left for his Pokémon journey when he was ten.

"You know, I think Misty and Brock won't make it to the Top 128, considering they are up against Lance and Valerie." Jude tried to ease the tension, as he mentally noted that he and Korrina were up against Tate and Liza, which gives Jude a huge advantage, but their combination was nothing to sneeze at either.

 **"Nostalgic, having all the old friends and rivals coming together to compete in one tournament."** Pikachu commented.

"Indeed." Ash mumbled.

Meanwhile, Pakura was standing in one corner quietly, and watched someone practicing their Pokémon's moves, presumably for their match, and had their Pokémon use Bubble. With her enhanced eyesight, she easily spotted something suspicious through the reflection from the bubbles. Pakura checked her CommuniDex for the time, and determined that she still has enough time to handle this matter, provided if she grants them a quick death. Although she was disappointed she wouldn't be able to play with her to-be victims, she would have to make do.

With that thought, she bent down and whispered something to Sylveon, and slipped out of the Battle Arena, weapons on hand.

Just in time as well, as when she left, the traitors were on the way to the Battle Arena.

"Where's the Swine Princess?" May fumed, as she stormed towards the building, looking for a certain female judge whom they knew the final decision lies.

"How come we didn't make it in the battle rounds?" Dawn herself was livid. Their friends, especially the males decided to walk behind them, as they didn't want to be in the line of fire when they unleash their anger. Some of the passers-by stared at them, and those who have watched the Contest had guessed that they didn't make it to the Battle Rounds.

'They must've received the results of the PAL Contest.' The passers-by thought. 'But who do they think they are, blaming Princess Pakura for not putting them into the battle rounds? They had the worst Appeals.'

"Coordinator Dawn must've thought she was some big shot since she won the Wallace Cup and made it to the final round of the Sinnoh Grand Festival, not to mention making it to the Top 16 in the Hoenn Grand Festival and Top 4 in the Johto one." A lady who was carrying a reasonable number of shopping bags whispered to her friend.

"Oh really?" Her friend looked disgusted at Dawn's arrogance. "Princess Pakura had won six Grand Festivals, and all the Ribbons from our region, and you don't see it get to her head. In fact, she never mentioned it herself."

"I hear May is known as the Princess of Hoenn by some citizens of the Sinnoh region." One of the female teenagers sitting at the park bench gossiped to her sister, watching the angry Coordinators storm past with mild interest.

"Really?" Her little sister piped up, as she licked her ice cream that her sister bought. "I think Princess Pakura makes a much better Princess than her."

The teenager nodded, as she sipped her soda. "They let their achievements get to their head, which would lead to their downfall. You'll see someday, little sis."

* * *

Meanwhile, Pakura was heading back to the Battle Arena, congratulating herself for a job well done. Unfortunately, because she had only a little time before she was due for her match, she wasn't able to torture any of her targets for information….at least not yet.

She kept one alive alright for this purpose, but she planned on getting him right after she finishes her match, and he wouldn't be able to escape anyway, since she had handcuffed him, and he couldn't break out of the aura-infused windows and doors, even if he tried. She had found this outhouse years ago when she was going for a walk in the forest, and since it's isolated, it's a good place to interrogate (read torture) someone without being seen or heard.

Also, even if he somehow managed to escape (which she thought was completely impossible), the abandoned hut is concealed by surrounding trees, and unless one is well-versed with the forest like her, there is no way he is able to get out of the vast forest. With her ability to sense people using aura, she would be able to find him easily.

Pakura also made sure he wouldn't be able to commit suicide by making sure no poison or anything sharp is with him, and his Pokémon were also released by her into the wild.

" _Nice work."_ Shiki caught up to her. _"You really got those guys good."_

Pakura nodded.

" _I wonder how you killed them without getting blood on your clothes."_ Shiki nodded to her completely clean clothes.

"One of them had a trench coat, so I wore it to prevent blood from getting onto my clothes. I discarded it after they were killed." Pakura explained. "Honestly, Shiki, if you came earlier, you would have seen it, and not ask me that question."

Shiki shrugged. _"I was taking a walk around the city. I always enjoyed the beautiful gardens."_

"Indeed." Pakura mumbled. She knew he always liked the natural beauty the PAL has, which makes this region the ideal habitats for all sorts of Pokémon. It was said that even humans relax when they breathe in the fresh clean air emitting from the picturesque nature.

Shiki and Pakura parted ways once they were out of the forest, as Shiki said he had something to do, but before that, he had wished her luck for her match, and told her he'd be watching her match, before he left, presumably to do his errand. Pakura then made her way to the Battle Arena alone, but once she got in, she did not expect the chaos she was met with.

May and Dawn were restrained by some of the PAL Elites (namely Jude and Phillip), as they struggled and yelled about her whereabouts, as they were going to give her a piece of their mind. As soon as her Pokémon, including the wild Eevee saw her, they bounded over to her, with Skitty hopping on her shoulder and Eevee into her arms.

Ash and Rosaline were standing to one side, ready to interfere if things went out of hand, though Pakura thought he'd only verbally step in because his hands were occupied in carrying the Egg case. The poor Elites were probably going to go deaf at the loudness of their voices (and the fact that they had enhanced hearing didn't help in this case), so Pakura decided to step in.

"Jude, Phillip, that's enough." Pakura said coldly, walking over to them. "I'll take it from here."

Jude and Phillip looked at her in relief, and promptly dropped May and Dawn to the ground, before joining the others.

As soon as they saw her, they stormed up to her, as May started to jab in the chest, which Pakura stopped before her finger could even reach her chest. Pakura hated the fact that there was no space in between her breasts (due to the fact that she had a large bust), and if someone tries to jab her in the chest, they'd be poking her breasts, and one thing she hated was people touching her chest area…..well, Shiki would be an exception.

"Can I help you?" Pakura asked coolly.

"Yes!" Dawn shouted. "Why didn't we make it to the Battle Rounds?"

"You mean besides the reason why you decided to show your assets in front of the whole of PAL region and their guests?" Pakura asked in a bored tone, and the girls flinched at the mention of the incident.

"Yes!" May nodded.

"Reasons are simple: You screwed up your performance. I don't see how I should pity you and let you in while they are other more talented Coordinators who deserve those spots." Pakura made a show to check her perfect French manicure, which was a pale pink inlaid with gold glittery nail polish at the tip of her nails. "Besides, the performance you made isn't original."

"So what?" May yelled. "What matters in an Appeal is that it's beautiful, that's what Contests are about! I bet you were biased against us, aren't you?"

Pakura sighed. Were they listening to a word she said? She already gave two good reasons as to why she didn't let them in, and they just pounced on the second one. It's almost as if they didn't accept the fact that they messed up their performance, and most likely thought theirs was the best. Thinking it is probably the best to clear out, she started walking away.

May and Dawn, however, weren't going to let the matter rest, and the former grabbed hold of the back of her necklace, which contained her Key Stone. Unfortunately, the force of which they grabbed it broke the chain, and her Key Stone fell to the ground.

Ash scowled at the fact that they dared to manhandle one of his Elites and destroy the chain containing her Mega Charm.

"Hold this for me." Ash passed his Egg case to Jude, promptly went over and slapped May hard on the left cheek. Before May could even react, Ash backhanded her again, sending her to the floor.

Dawn rushed over to help her friend, and shouted to Ash, "What was that for?"

Ash glared at the two girls. "That was for destroying Paku's Mega Charm. How is she supposed to keep it on her person without being sure that she won't lose it? You girls ought to be ashamed of yourself, blaming others of your own incompetency in the Contest Appeal, and even breaking one of my Elites Key Stone in retaliation she won't let you in."

That was when Wallace decided to step in.

"Dawn, I seriously regret the fact that you won the Wallace Cup, and I had to give you the Aqua Ribbon. As for you May, I'm embarrassed at the fact that I originate from the same region as you."

"How could you both gang up against us?" May whimpered.

"No, how could you?" Ash shot back. "You certainly have no problem ganging up against Paku."

"Besides, she wasn't the only one that didn't want to let you in, so why are you only blaming her for your failure of getting in? What is wrong with you?" Wallace added. "Why would you do something like that?"

Ash slowly shook his head. "That's low, girls. Real low."

May and Dawn looked down at the ground. Being admonished by one of the hottest guys they hoped to attain is mortifying.

"But…we…" Dawn stammered.

"I don't want to hear any more." Ash interrupted in a tone that made it clear why he was the PAL Champion and the regional prince, as he stared daggers at them. "I'd like for you both to leave now."

At that point, there were tears running down both girls' faces, but Ash remained unmoved.

"Leave this…region?" Dawn hiccupped.

"No." Ash looked heavenward for patience. "Not the region. My sight. Get out of here."

May and Dawn, with a final stricken glance at Ash's direction, hurried away, in the direction of the ladies room.

Ash watched them go dispassionately, before remarking, "Well, alright, her Key Stone is intact, but the necklace holding it is broken. They are so paying for that. Are you alright, Paku?" He directed the last sentence to his Leader, whose expression couldn't be seen since she hung her head, and her fringe fell forward, thus shadowing her face.

Pakura, who had been picking up the broken piece of her necklace, including her Key Stone, nodded, as she slipped her Key Stone into her pocket.

As the announcer called for the participants to get into the Battle Arena, Ash put his arm around Paku and gave her a squeeze. "Let's give the audience a good show."

Pakura nodded, as they filed in with everyone else.

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the second day of tag battles!" Ken announced. "Yesterday, the action packed battles kept us all in suspense, don't you agree?" He paused to hear the crowd cheering. "Now, let's spice it up with the tag battles we will have today! Would the first round contestants please go to the side of the battlefield?"

"Let's go, Paku." Ash said, shifting his Egg case, and headed towards the door. Pakura nodded, got up from her seat, and followed him to the entrance leading to the battlefield with her Pokémon. For some reason, the wild Eevee was bounding after them.

"From the Green side, we have Trainer Trip, and Trainer Max!" Surprisingly, only Trip walked out, much to the bewilderment of the crowd.

Ken seemed a little thrown off guard, but regained his composure, and said, "And from the Red side, we have Elite Leader Pakura, and Champion Red, our two crowd favourites!" The audience cheered and clapped as they still remembered their spectacular performance at yesterday's battle.

"So…where is Max?" Evan asked Trip.

"He wouldn't wake up. In some sort of coma, I guess." Trip sighed.

'Hopefully he doesn't wake up.' Pakura and Ash thought in unison, as the latter placed the Egg case in Lucario's hands for him to take care of.

"It's fine, I can fight them by myself!" Trip said confidently, looking at the pair.

"The rule is when a partner doesn't show up, his team would get disqualified…" Evan was cut off by Ash saying, "No. Let him fight with six of his Pokémon."

"Are you sure, Prince Red?" Evan asked.

"The rule is the participant gets to decide if their opponent can stay in the game or not if circumstances causes the opponent to be unable to meet the requirements for battle. I say we give him a chance. Right, Paku?"

Pakura shrugged, which Evan took as a yes.

Evan turned to Trip, and said, "Alright then, you are allowed to use six Pokémon, but as per the rules, you would have to have two out at a time."

That was the most Trip could hope for, and decided to take both his opponents down if it's the last thing he did.

"Now, trainers, please send out your Pokémon!" Evan announced.

Trip decided to start off with his male Unfezant and Chandelure.

"Alright, Talonflame, lend me your aura!"

"Let's go, Whimsicott!"

Their Pokéballs opened to reveal Talonflame and Whimsicott, who were thrilled at being sent out for battle.

"Both sides ready?" Evan asked, and the three trainers nodded. "Alright…battle begin!"

"Well then, you may have first move." Ash offered.

"Don't mind if I do!" Trip smirked. "Unfezant, use Air Cutter on Whimsicott! Chandelure, use Confuse Ray on Talonflame!"

"Talonflame, dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash countered.

"Whimsicott, intercept Air Cutter with Energy Ball." Pakura said, as the Energy Ball clashed with Air Cutter, which not only managed to repel Air Cutter, it went on to hit Unfezant, which wasn't very effective, due to Unfezant's type, but it still caused significant damage due to the sheer power of the move.

Meanwhile, Ash's Talonflame managed to dodge the Confuse Ray with its Quick Attack, which made Trip change his tactics.

"Unfezant, Air Slash! Chandelure, Will-O-Wisp!" Trip ordered. "Aim them both at Whimsicott!"

'Of course. Both of Trip's Pokémon have the type advantage over Paku's. That is why he is trying to take her out first.' Ash thought. 'But I cannot let that happen!'

With that thought in mind, Ash shouted, "Talonflame, counter with Toxic!" That did the trick, as Toxic managed to repel both the attacks.

"Sunny Day!" Trip commanded, and the sun became much stronger. "Chandelure, use Flamethrower!"

"Solar Beam." Pakura said calmly. While Sunny Day may power up Fire-type moves, it also shortens the time to charge up Solar Beam.

"Talonflame, Flame Charge!" Ash called out. The attack hit Unfezant, who skidded backwards with some burn marks.

The Solar Beam and Flamethrower clashed, and Trip thought it was equal, until he looked carefully, and realized Solar Beam was winning. He hastily told Chandelure to stop the attack and dodge, which it managed to do just in time.

"Then….Chandelure! Trick Room!" Trip shouted.

" **Interesting. His Pokémon knows the move Trick Room."** Lucario remarked.

"Doesn't matter. No matter how fast his Pokémon is, we will always be able to catch them in the end." Ash said, as a smirk crept its way into his face, watching a large light blue rectangle with light blue and white transparent walls and ceiling appear around the battlefield, encasing all their Pokémon in it.

Suddenly, Trip's Unfezant and Chandelure began moving as fast as lightning, while Whimsicott and Talonflame moved slower than usual.

Ash and Pakura followed the movements of Trip's Pokémon, just as Trip shouted, "Unfezant, Gust! Chandelure, Fire Spin!"

"Whimsicott, Unfezant is going to come from the right. Counter with Fairy Wind." Pakura said calmly.

"Chandelure is going to attack from behind. Talonflame, absorb Fire Spin with Steel Wing."

"What! How did you know?" Trip was astonished that they were able to predict the direction.

"It isn't very difficult when you can follow the Pokémon's movements." Ash replied smoothly, as Fairy Wind hit Unfezant hard, and Talonflame absorbed the impact, causing the Steel Wing to glow orange with flames surrounding the wings.

The wild Eevee's eyes were sparkling at the battle, apparently dazzled at Pakura's battling style. It was clear to Ash when he spared a glance at her that she had an interest in battling like that someday.

Talonflame made to charge towards Unfezant, but due to Trick Room, Unfezant dodged easily. The corner of Ash's mouth titled upwards slightly, and he gave a nod to Talonflame, who went on to hit the walls of Trick Room, causing a huge crack.

"Chandelure, Shadow Ball!" Trip shouted.

"Counter with Moonblast." Pakura ordered. Although it was fired one second later, the Moonblast overpowered Shadow Ball, and the Shadow Ball and Moonblast ended up hitting the Trick Room wall again, where the crack was. That was enough to shatter the Trick Room into pieces.

"Well, Ghost-type moves are super-effective against a Psychic move." Ash remarked. "Nice work, Paku."

"I try." Pakura replied.

Trip gritted his teeth. His Pokémon were clearly somewhat tired, while Whimsicott and Talonflame hardly had a scratch. "Unfezant, Sky Attack! Chandelure, Ember!"

"Giga Impact. If it doesn't faint, keep hitting it with Steel Wing." Ash said calmly.

"Counter with Fairy Wind, then use Giga Drain to take away all its energy. Once it's done, use Solar Beam." Pakura decided to finish it as well.

Not only did their attacks repel Trip's, it went on to inflict damage as well. Their Pokémon made the second attack, which consisted of Talonflame brutally beating up Unfezant with repeated Steel Wing. Meanwhile, Whimsicott was consecutively attacking with Giga Drain, and finally finished it with a full power Solar Beam that lasted for one minute before it dissipated.

When they were done, Unfezant and Chandelure were down with swirls in their eyes, badly bruised. At the sight of this, medics came in to take them to the Pokémon Center Emergency Ward.

"Unfezant and Chandelure are unable to battle! Trainer Trip, please send out your next two Pokémon!"

"How could you do this to my Pokémon?" Trip accused.

"Might I remind you that you are playing with the big boys in this competition?" Ash shrugged confidently, and shook his head. "Perhaps this means you're not ready."

"Do you want to forfeit now?" Pakura added, sneering.

"Never!" Trip shouted, as he sent out his next two Pokémon, which turned out to be Jellicent and Vanilluxe.

Ash returned his Talonflame after complimenting it on its good work.

"An Ice type, huh?" Pakura looked at the latter, noting that it doesn't look as powerful as hers. Pakura then returned Whimsicott with a word of thanks.

"Umbreon, lend me your aura!" Ash decided to send out the Dark type Eeveelution.

"Let's go, Klefki!" Pakura decided to send out her Key Ring Pokémon.

"Alright, let the battle begin!" Evan put his red and green flags down.

"Remember, his Jellicent has Cursed Body as its Ability, so do not use any contact moves." Ash whispered, and Pakura nodded her thanks for the information.

"Jellicent, use Ominous Wind! Vanilluxe, Icicle Spear!" Trip shouted out.

"Counter Ominous Wind with Fairy Wind." Pakura countered calmly.

"Umbreon, use Psychic, and deflect the attack back on Vanilluxe!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge it, Vanilluxe!" Trip ordered.

"Vanilluxe's speed isn't too shabby." Ash mused. "But, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, Alright, Umbreon, Confuse Ray!" The Confuse Ray managed to hit Vanilluxe, and Vanilluxe's eyes became glassy, and started to attack everyone, including Jellicent, with Blizzard.

"Jellicent, get out of the way and use Bubble Beam on Umbreon!"

"Shadow Ball!" Ash countered, and the Shadow Ball destroyed Bubble Beam, and went on to hit Jellicent, who was pushed back from the super effective move.

"Can you still continue?" Trip asked, and Jellicent shook his head, and got into battle stance.

"Use Play Rough on Vanilluxe." Pakura nodded to the still confused Vanilluxe, who is now firing Ice Beam all over the battlefield. Klefki nodded, and attacked Vanilluxe, who hit against the nearest wall, but the confusion wore off.

"Now let's see if we can charm those two Pokémon." Ash made brief eye contact with Pakura, who nodded.

"Umbreon/Klefki, use Attract!" Pakura and Ash commanded in unison.

Umbreon and Klefki winked, and multiple pink hearts were released from their bodies towards Trip's Pokémon. They must've been the opposite gender, as pink hearts replaced their eyes.

"Klefki, use Draining Kiss." Pakura ordered. As she did not specify which Pokémon, Klefki decided to use it on both of them, which meant their energy was drained, and Klefki had even more energy. However, Jellicent became surrounded in a dark indigo aura which then covered Klefki, which meant Klefki could no longer use Draining Kiss. That didn't matter to Pakura, though, because Klefki has many other moves she could use.

"Jellicent, Vanilluxe, snap out of it!" Trip shouted, angry that he fell for such a cheap trick.

"Well then, Umbreon, Shadow Ball!" Umbreon opened its mouth and fired a barrage of Shadow Balls at Jellicent, who took the brunt of the damage from all the Shadow Balls fired.

"Klefki, Flash Cannon." Klefki nodded, and shot a powerful beam of silver energy, which lasted for at least thirty seconds. Vanilluxe was struggling to stand due to the sheer power of the move, and its weakness to Steel.

"Vanilluxe, don't give up! Use Blizzard!" Trip shouted. "Jellicent, use Surf!"

"So your Jellicent knows Surf. Pretty good move." Ash commented. "But, I already know how to counter it. Umbreon, use Iron Tail on the wave!" Umbreon jumped up, and used Iron Tail to cut the wave in half, and then went on to hit Jellicent in the head with the still active Iron Tail.

"Alright, Klefki, Magnet Rise." Pakura decided to use the move for Klefki to dodge the Blizzard.

"What?" Trip looked in shock at the Key Ring Pokémon using Magnet Rise.

"Let's finish this." Ash smiled, but not in the nice way. "Umbreon, use Giga Impact on Vanilluxe!"

"And use Mirror Shot on Vanilluxe as well." Pakura commanded.

The Mirror Shot lasted for fifteen seconds, and right after Mirror Shot ended, Vanilluxe was hit hard by Giga Impact, which caused it to crash against the wall. When the dust cloud cleared, it was apparent to everyone that it cannot battle, and not only that, Vanilluxe needed medical attention right away.

Trip gritted his teeth "Jellicent, use Rest!" Jellicent began falling asleep.

"Heal Block." Pakura was quick to react, which prevented Jellicent from recovering, but it still remained asleep.

"Umbreon, Dream Eater!" Ash decided to drain Jellicent of his energy. However, once the Dream Eater move ended, Jellicent woke up.

"Your Pokémon wakes up fast." Ash nodded in approval. "But…Umbreon, use Feint Attack!"

"And Klefki, let's finish it off with Play Rough!"

The two attacks hit Jellicent before Trip could even react, and Ash called out for Umbreon to use Psychic once more, and Umbreon used it to hit Jellicent against the walls and the battlefield for one minute, before it was put out of its misery by a Shadow Ball.

After the battle was done, the medics came in again to get Jellicent and Vanilluxe to the Emergency Ward, and Ash mock waved to the Pokémon who were being wheeled away.

Sylveon turned to Eevee. **"Still want her to be your trainer?"**

Eevee nodded vigorously. She didn't care how brutal Pakura is, she just knows Pakura would take good care of her.

" **Well, suit yourself. Remember if she catches you, you have signed up for everything she has in store."** Skitty shrugged. She remembered the training Pakura gives to her Pokémon during her early days, but she knew Eevee would be just fine, as Pakura would heal up her tried Pokémon and sometimes give a massage to relieve fatigue and restore vitality in her Pokémon.

The training was all worth it in the end, as Skitty now knew much more moves than she was with May, and proved to be capable in the Grand Festivals Pakura participated in. With the potential Eevee displayed in performing, Skitty had no doubt that Pakura would be able to hone her potential and become an asset to Pakura's future performances.

* * *

"Well, those two are nothing to sneeze at, that's for sure." Marshal shuddered at the thought of facing either of them in battle.

"She's one powerful Fairy user." Valerie was in awe at the Fairy Elite specialist. She could tell by the battle that Pakura had trained her Fairy-type Pokémon very well, with the moves of Klefki being above average in terms of power. "No wonder she is the Elite Leader."

"Understatement of the year." Jude shuddered. "Phillip and Rosaline have the type advantage over her, but she still managed to defeat them."

"Is it true?" Drasna turned to the said two Elites.

"Unfortunately." Rosaline nodded miserably. "When I applied for the last spot in the PAL Elite, as a second test, she challenged me with her Ice type Pokémon. I was confident I'd win because Ice is weak to Fire, but she defeated all six of my Fire-types with two of her Ice type Pokémon. She was extremely disappointed."

'Must've been a bad experience.' Siebold thought, watching Rosaline thoughtfully. 'The battle must've left a bitter taste in her tongue.'

"Second test? What was the first?" Korrina asked.

"Oh she had to battle against me." Jude answered. "If you want to be an Elite member, you have to battle the current members with the type specialties you have chosen. Because of my double advantage, she lost badly."

"Yeah, I wasn't let in because at that time, I wasn't even a Hunter." Rosaline sighed. "I underestimated the requirements to become an Elite member of this region. I thought winning the tournament was enough, but apparently not. Pakura was strict in choosing her members."

"How did you get in, then?" Shauntal asked curiously.

"Pakura gave me three weeks to start training, pass all three exams in order to become a full-fledged professional Hunter. It was extremely difficult, to be honest, but somehow I made it." Rosaline gave a small smile at the memory.

"You must've worked very hard to earn your place in the PAL Elite." Pryce remarked.

"She did, alright." Phillip nodded.

"But I still have a long and difficult path awaiting me in order to catch up to Jude and Phillip, as one of the weakest members." Rosaline rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "The Leader and Champion are at a whole other level altogether, and I doubt I would be able to catch up to them."

"Well, no one could tell you were the weakest, after all, you defeated three of the regional Champion in the Champions' tournament earlier that was held before the competition." Alder pointed out.

Rosaline gave a sunny smile at the compliment, which a certain Kalos Elite took note that her smile was dazzling. At the same time, a certain female Champion was sitting quietly, contemplating the conversation she had heard. She felt excitement coursing through her body when she heard Rosaline mention the prowess of the PAL Champion.

Maybe she could get him to teach her his secrets? Then perhaps she could dethrone that bitch of a Leader, and take over that position herself. As for what types she wants, perhaps she could think about it later.

* * *

"Trainer Trip, please send out your last two Pokémon!" Evan said.

"This won't be so easy for you two!" Trip announced confidently. "These two are my strongest Pokémon!"

'I have a feeling I know who he's going to send out.' Ash thought. 'This battle isn't going to be difficult at all.'

Sure enough, when Trip threw his Pokéballs, it revealed his starter, Serperior and Conkeldurr.

"Alright, Spiritomb, lend me your aura!" Ash sent out the Forbidden Pokémon.

"Let's go, Clefable!" Pakura summoned the Fairy Pokémon.

"Trainers on both sides ready?" Ash, Pakura and Trip nodded. "Then, let the battle begin!"

"Conkeldurr, use Stone Edge on Clefable! Serperior, Leaf Storm on Spiritomb!" Trip commanded.

"Too easy. Clefable, destroy Stone Edge with Meteor Mash." Pakura said calmly.

"Spiritomb, counter with Ominous Wind!"

The Meteor Mash successfully destroyed the stones that were flying towards Clefable, and Ominous Wind managed to prevent Leaf Storm from hitting it.

"Come on, you got to do better than that!" Ash taunted, and his Pokémon laughed.

Trip glared at Ash, and called for Serperior to fire an Energy Ball, and Conkeldurr to use Earthquake. However, they had to exert more energy than usual due to Spiritomb's Pressure.

Ash shook his head, and called for Spiritomb to use Shadow Sneak, and Pakura met the Energy Ball head on with a Moonblast. She purposely powered down the said move so that it would explode, covering the battlefield with smoke.

Ash took this opportunity to fire a Toxic at Serperior, and Pakura took the opportunity to command Clefable to use Metronome. Metronome turned out to be Draco Meteor, and when the smoke cleared, Trip found Serperior to be poisoned, and the orange orbs falling towards Conkeldurr, and in desperation, called for it to block with his pillars.

"That move wasn't too shabby." Ash nodded. "But, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Spiritomb, Hypnosis!"

"Dodge it, Serperior!" Trip shouted, knowing that with Serperior's reflexes, he can hopefully get out of the way.

"Who said I was aiming for your Serperior?" Ash asked.

"What?" Trip realized he had made a fatal mistake, as Conkeldurr fell to the ground, asleep.

"Now, use Nightmare!" Ash snapped his fingers.

"No way!" Trip was shocked that Spiritomb knew how to use Nightmare. The Nightmare hit Conkeldurr, and it shuddered as it began to have nightmares, which slowly drained its energy.

Trip gritted his teeth. Both his Pokémon had a status condition, and both his opponents' Pokémon had hardly gotten a scratch like the last two rounds.

"Spiritomb, Dream Eater!" Ash decided to drain Conkeldurr's energy even more.

"Serperior, intercept Spiritomb with Vine Whip!" Trip wildly called out a move. "After that, use Giga Drain!" The Vine Whip managed to stop Spiritomb, and Serperior drained Spiritomb's energy with Giga Drain, though he looked like he was struggling to use the move, thanks to Spiritomb's Pressure. Ash just knew how to counter Trip's strategy, and shook his head at Pakura, who was about to open her mouth to call out a move.

"Spiritomb, use Infestation!" The Infestation travelled through the vines, and hit Serperior, who let go, and struggled to be free of the insects that was infesting it, and Spiritomb continued using Dream Eater as normal, until it was fully recovered.

"Clefable, let's help Trip a bit. Use Wake-Up Slap." Due to the fact that Conkeldurr was asleep, it dealt double the damage. However, Conkeldurr woke up after the move was being used, and it looked tired.

Trip growled. "Conkeldurr, use Hammer Arm on Clefable!"

"Counter with Ice Punch." Pakura said calmly, and the two attacks met, with Ice Punch overpowering Hammer Arm, and Conkeldurr was hit hard on the face.

"Alright, Clefable, let's use Blizzard on Serperior." Before Trip could react, Pakura called out another move, and Serperior was struggling to stay conscious as Blizzard hit him full force, and it lasted for a minute before Pakura stopped the Blizzard.

"Trip's Pokémon is severely weakened already. Let's put them out of their misery. What do you say, Paku?" Ash smirked.

"I like your thinking." Pakura nodded.

"Spiritomb, Hyper Beam!" Ash called out.

"Clefable, use Psychic, followed by your most powerful Moonblast." Pakura commanded. The Psychic treated Conkeldurr like how Umbreon did Jellicent, and held it down while she fired a very powerful Moonblast, and the force of it got Conkeldurr crushed on the battlefield ground. Meanwhile, Serperior was too tired to dodge, and endured the full brunt of the attack. It was clear that once again, they needed immediate medical attention.

"Conkeldurr and Serperior are unable to battle! Which means, the winners are Champion Red and Elite Leader Pakura!" Evan announced. "With this, the two of them had now earned their places in the Top 128!" The crowd cheered as the two exited the battlefield, leaving Trip to go after the medics who were wheeling his Pokémon away.

"Must've been a hard blow." Ash commented, taking his Egg case back from Lucario.

"Who cares?" Pakura asked. "Not me."

"True." Ash nodded.

"Well, I got stuff to do, so I'll see you later." Ash nodded, as he remembered the chain containing her Key Stone was broken and she probably wanted to get somethign else to contain her Key Stone and waved goodbye to Pakura, as she headed towards the direction of the exit.

* * *

The Dragon Princess watched dispassionately at Rosaline's match against Sidney and Aaron. Rosaline had one Pokémon down, and is currently using her Slowking against Sidney's Mandibuzz, and Erika was using her Vileplume against Aaron's Beautifly. Unknown to anyone but the Dragon Duo themselves, they had a set of television installed to keep themselves updated about the current affairs going on in PAL.

The television is usually tuned in to the PAL broadcast, which is the best source of PAL news and updates about other regions as well. Right now, the PAL region is broadcasting the Pokémon World Championship matches, which is what she and her Pokémon were watching. As usual, the Dragon Prince is out, presumably to get some information or perhaps he was getting supplies.

The Dragon Princess' face was clearly written with contempt and her eyes were glowing red for a brief moment, but the glow vanished just as abrupt as it appeared. Before her Pokémon could react, she had started ranting.

"I can make a better Psychic specialist than her." The Dragon Princess rolled her eyes at Rosaline's battling style. "Why did the PAL Elite even let her choose Psychic as her specialty is a wonder to me. What were they thinking?"

" **Well, they say she is one of the strongest Psychics in the PAL region."** Flygon explained.

"Yeah? The only ability she has going for her is her ability to tell the future. However, it only comes out in emergencies, which means she doesn't have access to her ability anytime she wants." The Dragon Princess was livid. "Sure, she can erase memories, but so can I. Not only that, I can modify memories too."

" **Yeah, we all know that her psychic powers cannot rival yours."** Delphox nodded. They all knew that Rosaline was nowhere near the Dragon Duo's level in terms of psychic powers, although unlike the Dragon Duo, Rosaline was born with psychic powers. When the Dragon Princess learnt of the fact through her clairvoyance, she was extremely disappointed.

"I don't even know why they let her in. When she applied for the last spot, she isn't even a Hunter, and had the gall to try for the last spot." The Dragon Princess shook her head. "Did she even read up on the requirements to try for the Elite Four spot?"

" **Clearly, she's mistaken if she thinks she can apply for the last spot just because she won the tournament."** Her male Meowstic said contemptuously. **"I bet you are disappointed she chose to be a Psychic specialist?"**

"Understatement of the year." The Dragon Princess spat. "And even more pathetic, she wanted it so badly, she begged for another chance, although she failed two tests. Two!"

" **Which two?"** Altaria asked.

The Dragon Princess sighed. "The thing is, if you want to try for a spot in the PAL Elite Four, you have to battle the current members with the type specialties of your choice, starting from the weakest member. In this case, when Rosaline tried for the spot, she had to battle Jude. However, she lost badly because of the type match-up, and from what I heard, she depended on her Gardevoir to try and turn the tables. If there is one thing I don't like, is people depending on just one Pokémon in a battle."

The Pokémon thought Rosaline did underestimate the requirements for being a PAL Elite member. Perhaps she thought being a PAL Elite member is just like being a normal regional Elite Four member, since as far as they know, Rosaline was an average person with an average childhood, and had no idea of the fact that the PAL Elites are also experienced killers, and are no ordinary Elite Four members.

Normality was what the PAL region does not have, which is one of the reasons why they stand out. The PAL region liked to be unique, which is why unlike the other regions, they are a principality.

"Her begging for another chance must've been so annoying that they gave her another chance just for her to stop annoying them. I am sure that she was given three weeks to train and become a full-fledged professional Hunter working for a department. Somehow, she made it, and they let her in." The Dragon Princess said thoughtfully. "Obviously, the PAL Elite members are a hazard. After all, stupid people are dangerous."

'Of course, she's going to try and take out the PAL Elites before they can find out about her.' Espeon thought. 'But perhaps Phillip would be the most threat to her, considering he is the smartest member among the five. But the biggest threat would be….' Espeon shuddered.

"Well, then, let's get down to business." The Dragon Princess announced.

* * *

"I'm back." Pakura announced, as she entered the abandoned outhouse. The man she had chained to the wall tilted his head upwards slightly, before shuddering as he realized the femme fatale was back for him. Behind her was three Pokémon, a Sylveon, a Skitty and an Eevee she must've acquired in between the time she left him and when she returned.

"Sylveon, take Eevee to the corner. Make sure she doesn't see or hear anything." Pakura ordered, as Sylveon nodded, and dragged Eevee off with the help of her ribbons. Eevee protested, but Sylveon said, **"Sorry, but it's better if you do not see this."**

Pakura opened her jacket, to reveal an impressive array of knives. She slowly and tauntingly selected an almost dainty-looking number with a cruel, curved blade.

"You know, I have a lot of time in my hands, since I just finished my match, and secured myself a place in the Top 128." She teasingly and slowly made a cut on the man's lips, causing blood to run down his chin. She grinned at the pain that was feeling his eyes.

"Well, then, let's start with a few questions. If you don't answer…" She let the sunlight shine on the blade of her knife as a non-verbal answer.

"First question: Who sent you to this region?" Pakura asked. She was met with silence, as the man weighed his options.

Pakura sighed. It looked like she had to show him she meant business. The man screamed as the girl in front of him sliced at his right foot, severing it. She nodded to Skitty, who began to charge a Toxic, ready to aim at the wound.

"I'll repeat my question, if you didn't hear me the first time." Pakura said coldly, not even fazed by the warm blood that splattered her face. "Who sent you to our region?"

"It was the former five bosses of various villainous organizations around the regions!" The man was howling from the pain his severed foot was giving him.

"Right….what do you hope to achieve from coming here?" She asked sarcastically, checking her perfectly manicured nails.

"Well, we were hoping to take out the Champion, you know, since the five of them said he'd be a threat." The man grumbled. "But…" he trailed off.

"But what?" Pakura asked, still maintaining her icy exterior.

"Er…I..." He screamed as the girl started making a non-fatal wound at his stomach, and nodded to Skitty, who fired Toxic at the open wound. He felt woozy, as the poison was absorbed by his bloodstream.

"Spit it out." She ordered in an unemotional voice. "Stop stuttering."

"Ok, ok! The team that was Giovanni had one more order."

"And that is?" Pakura raised her eyebrow.

"Giovanni said he had developed an aura-infused weapon that could combat the powerful aura users such as the PAL Elite Four, and can be used against Psychics like Rosaline! He believed that the weapon is currently in this region, and that the Champion somehow had it with him. He wanted his weapon back!" The man panicked as Pakura lifted her knife, but she was only amusing herself by balancing the knife at the sharpest point in her hand. Much to the man's surprise, she had the skill in doing so.

Pakura wouldn't deny that she was apprehensive at the thought of Giovanni getting his hands on the weapon, but then again, who cares at this point?

"So, what else did he tell you?" Pakura asked evenly.

"Er….he said if they find the boy who stole the weapon 11 years ago, they should kill him, because he took what was rightfully his. And one trait about this weapon is that it had the "R" symbol branded on it, to show that it was Team Rocket's property." The man was feeling the effects of the Toxic coursing through his body.

Pakura laughed coldly. "Is that all?"

When the man weakly nodded, Pakura smirked, and said, "I'll keep this short as a reward…." With that, she raised her knife.

Later….

The outhouse door creaked open, revealing Shiki.

" _Knew I'd find you here."_ Shiki said, and looked down at the mutilated body of the man on the floor. It was so disfigured Shiki almost couldn't tell it used to be a human. _"Whoa, what did he do to piss you off?"_ He looked highly unsettled at the corpse.

"Nothing much." Pakura replied, petting her Skitty. "I just did it to get some information."

" _So, what information did you get from him?"_ Shiki asked.

"That Giovanni is going to kill you for stealing his weapon all those years ago. He wanted it back." Pakura replied, looking at him with worry in her eyes.

She expected Shiki to look surprised, but instead, he seemed nonchalant.

" _He can't do anything as long as he doesn't know who stole it."_ Shiki shrugged.

"True." Pakura nodded.

Shiki looked down at the Eevee with interest. _"When did you get the Eevee?"_

"It's a wild one. The same one that ate my Poképuffs remember?" Pakura gave Shiki a funny look.

" _Why would she be here?"_ Shiki asked.

"Beats me." Pakura replied, as she took out one of Phillip's bombs, placed it on the mutilated corpse, and put a barrier around his corpse. She watched emotionlessly as the body exploded into smithereens, and splattered the outhouse with his blood.

"Come on, let's go." Pakura mumbled. Shiki nodded, and they left the outhouse.

Unknown to them, however, Sylveon asked, **"Do you STILL want to be her owner after what you saw?"**

Eevee nodded. Once she made a decision, she would stick to it no matter what.

" **I like the determination this baby Eevee has."** Skitty nodded.

Sylveon sighed. She had been with Pakura the longest, due to her being her (unofficial) starter. She knows she is losing her trainer, and at the rate they were going, she'll lose her completely before the end of the tournament. She knows Pakura won't acknowledge or accept the cold, hard truth, even if it was right in front of her.

'What would happen to us once she's completely gone?'

That was a question Sylveon never want to know the answer to.

* * *

A certain PAL Psychic specialist watched as Phillip was dominating the battle. It was clear he is venting his anger on being neglected for most of his life on Tyson's Pokémon, and he was sending them to the Emergency Ward, just like what Ash and Pakura did to all of Trip's Pokémon.

Rosaline knew that among the Elite members, she was the only one with a normal, happy childhood, with no major events that had changed her life, or her personality. The others somehow had something bad happen to them, which caused a change in their life path. She had known about the boys' changes, but she did not know about Pakura's. In fact, she doesn't know what kind of childhood Pakura had, and if she even had anything happen to her that changed her life. She had tried using telepathy to find out, but somehow, she was caught immediately, and was thrown into the dungeon they had in the basement of their Plateau.

She was just an average girl who liked to make art. Every day she got out her art supplies, the drawing block, the easel and the palette, and off she goes, painting about something that inspired her. She always painted when the muses moved her.

Rosaline smiled at her childhood memories. She had also loved to role play. She often got out her dolls, the fake teacups, and the imaginary friends. No one would pay attention when a little girl plays pretend, because it was a normal hobby.

When she had become an Elite member (albeit on probation), she realized she had to have a talent as well in order to become one, which is an activity that an Elite member would take up since they don't have to go on journeys and train their Pokémon to win the Trainer's Tournament and take on the Pokémon League. Good thing she actually had a talent, which was painting.

It was true, her family begged her not to become a PAL Elite Four, as it would mean she would be taking her first steps to bloodshed, but she had assured them that she'll be fine and she would still be their sweet little girl. She hadn't known what she had signed up for, she only knew she had to have the last spot. She had realized that the PAL Elite members were experienced killers, and they were good enough to the point they feel no remorse when killing.

Rosaline knew they would never let her in if she couldn't even make a kill even if she had passed the Hunter's Exam (later she learnt that the three of them had been keeping tabs on her kill list during the Hunter Exam to see if she was truly worthy of having the last spot), and she had made her very first kills in the Hunter Exam. She had regretted the people's deaths, but realized that it was a kill or be killed when it comes to the PAL Elite members. She had hardened her heart so she can kill without feeling too much regret. She had wondered if she was still the sweet little girl she promised she would stay.

"Rosaline!" A sharp voice jolt her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Jude frowning at her.

"What?" Rosaline asked, somewhat irritated at Jude interrupting her thoughts.

"Siebold has something he wanted to ask you." Jude nodded to the person sitting behind him.

"Yeah?" Rosaline turned to the Kalos Elite member.

"I went to see the art gallery the other day, and saw your paintings. I was wondering if you could show me the taste that your other paintings have to help me inspire the art of my cooking."

'Of course, when it comes to food, not only must the chefs make it taste delightful, they must also look delicious so that customers would be willing to try them. No point if the food looks good but tastes awful, or looks awful but tastes good.' Rosaline thought.

"Alright, but only if you show me the art of cooking." Rosaline replied.

"If you say so." Siebold nodded. "So would you show it to me at dinner tonight?"

"Of course." Rosaline said, and turned back to the match.

"What just happened?" Rosaline asked her other Elites.

"I think…you just got asked out on a date." Ash deduced, somewhat distractedly as he was watching the match between Phillip and Malva and Tyson and Lenora. At the scoreboard, it was indicated Phillip had lost none of his Pokémon, Malva had lost one, Lenora was down to her last one, and Tyson as well.

"Wormadam, Signal Beam!" Phillip called out. Wormadam fired a particularly powerful Signal Beam as it sensed Phillip's envy and contempt towards Tyson via aura, and Tyson's Shiftry endured the full brunt of the attack. However, after Signal Beam ended, Phillip called out for Bug Bite, which finished Shiftry off effectively (and earned a place in the Emergency Ward as well.)

Everyone was astonished at Phillip's brutality, as normally, he was a docile and mild mannered person. He was known to never use more force than necessary to faint an opponent's Pokémon. You could almost hear the thought in everyone's mind: What did Tyson do to provoke Phillip into sing brute force?

However, the PAL Elite members knew better. The hate came from years of being neglected by his parents during his early childhood, taunted by the kids living there, and the fact that no one understood him. That was why he turned to the only people who probably understood his situation: the PAL Elite members.

"Why?" Tyson had asked Phillip, distress clearly evident as he watched his third Pokémon being wheeled away. Tears were gathered in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

"You'll have to ask your people why." Phillip replied calmly. "Malva, Lenora is all yours." _Because I did what I wanted to do_ was left unspoken, but was somehow understood by the Fire-type Kalos Elite member.

* * *

"You said you wanted to talk to me about something?" Ash asked Pakura. During Jude's match, he had received a message from Pakura saying she wanted a word with him during the lunch break. He noted that Pakura had replaced her chain in her Mega Charm, and once again her Key Stone was on her neck.

"Yes. There is some information I acquired just now." Pakura replied, as Ash realized she was taking him to the Plaza Hotel; why would she take him there?

Ash was looking around at the fancy decorations, in the lobby, as he actually never stepped foot into the hotel before, despite the fact that he was usually travelling around the region to Hunters' Association meetings and being ensconced in his personal office doing work, or being in the Hunters' Association building receiving information or missions.

The concierge greeted Pakura cheerfully as if they were old friends, which led Ash to suspect she had been here often for reasons unknown. Pakura nodded curtly, and led him to an elevator.

Ash noted that the elevator was fancy, but it was nothing compared to the Battle Tower's elevator. It had red carpeting, and had mirrors on two sides of the walls, and a glass wall at the third to see through. Pakura pressed the "20" Button, and the door closed before they started to ascend. The doors opened to reveal a well-lit hallway with several doors, with more red carpeting covering the floor.

Pakura reached one of the rosewood doors, took out a golden key from her pocket, inserted it into the keyhole and opened the door. She gestured for Ash to get in.

Ash realised that it was a penthouse suite, and the penthouse was very luxurious.

First of all, the walls were layered with cream wallpaper, and the carpeting was pink. The curtains were white in colour, and the tables and chairs looked like they were made out of solid gold, complete with velvet cushions for the chairs. There was a mahogany desk with a lamp and computer, complete with a roller chair that had a cushion on it. There were pink roses everywhere, and portraits hanging on the walls that featured famous models wearing elegant gowns. There were lots of gold leaf all over everything, and freshly cut flowers all over the place.

Ash knew that Pakura owned this penthouse, but he thought buying these penthouses are expensive, and wondered how she acquired it without making a dent in their vault located in the Elite Plateau.

Pakura beckoned him over to the sitting room, where two red couches faced off over a low table. Three of the walls were blank, and the fourth was entirely glass, providing a window to the city. Pakura invited Ash over to sit at one of the couches and took her place across from him. She pressed a button on the side of the table. The top split and from below rose a second table top that held their lunch. Chicken and chunks of oranges cooked in a creamy sauce laid on a bed of pearly white grain, pheasant with a selection of jewel-coloured jellies, tiny versions of real vegetables swimming in butter, and potatoes mashed with parsley. For dessert, they had pudding the colour of honey.

Of course, Ash started on his lunch, while Pakura just looked out the glass window.

"So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Ash asked.

"I received information on a weapon Giovanni had developed." Pakura said.

"What kind of weapon?" Ash asked, sounding somewhat disinterested, as he didn't see what was so interesting about a weapon, considering he had played with most of the weapons in training at a gym under the Battle Tower (accessible only by password in the elevator), and he had already seen the collection of military weapons in Special Weaponry.

"It's a weapon that is developed specifically to combat aura users, and it is said to have the ability to counter psychics such as Rosaline." Pakura answered.

"Wait, what?" Ash paused while consuming a pheasant. Now that got his attention. What kind of weapon was that? "Did you know what the weapon looked like?"

Pakura shook her head. "Nope, no clue. But what I know is that the weapon had an R symbol branded somewhere, to indicate that it belonged to Team Rocket. Giovanni believes that the weapon is somewhere in PAL, and he is getting his minions to infiltrate our region to find it and bring it to him."

"How did the great Team Rocket leader even lose that weapon?" Ash asked sarcastically.

"That's easy. A boy had stolen it from them 11 years ago." Pakura shrugged. "They suspect we possess the weapon, and would probably try to get us to tell them the location of the weapon."

"It's a useless move if we don't even know what form the weapon has." Ash grumbled. "It can be anything- a knife, a bow and arrow, a gun, you know…"

"Obviously." Pakura said dryly.

"Do you know who stole it?" Ash asked.

"No." Pakura lied. Ash frowned at her, as if to check if she was lying via his psychic powers. As much as Pakura hated to admit, Ash was well-trained in psychic powers as well, and perhaps he even exceeded Rosaline in terms of psychic power.

When Ash came up with nothing, he relaxed.

"Well, then, thanks for telling me this." Ash said sincerely. "So, we are going to find the weapon, and destroy it if we can, so that Giovanni cannot get his hands on it."

Pakura's blood ran cold as soon as she heard Ash's plan to destroy it. What was she going to do? She can't stop him without exposing her knowledge. She settled on nodding, and was about to clear out, when Ash went on, "And since we are here, you can't leave without having lunch with me."

"Wait, what?" Pakura was puzzled. "Uh, no thanks, I got a lot to do, I mean, I have the Contest to prepare for, and…"

"Don't be an idiot." Ash cut her off. "You're the princess, remember? You can dictate when you start the prep, and as the Head Judge of the PAL Contests, they can never start without you anyway. And as the Champion, I am ordering you to stay here and eat, while we discuss how I could convince Cynthia that I am not a criminal. You're a girl, so you should know how girls think."

Pakura groaned. This was going to be a long lunch hour. She seriously wanted to strangle Ash right then and there.

Oh, how she wished she could kill Cynthia and get her out of her way.

* * *

Meanwhile, Phillip entered the garden located at the rooftop, wondering what made him act like he did today. The thought of Tyson's Pokémon going to the Emergency seemed to drive the last of the strength from his knees. He slumped against the wall, then slid all the way down until he was sitting on the ground of the rooftop. He had promised Ash he would only do it to the traitors' Pokémon, but Tyson wasn't part of it.

Sure, the other Elite members understood, but did the rest of the regional guests know?

Phillip shook his head. Why should he dwell on a feeble twinge of regret? Looking deep into his heart, he knew he didn't care, and neither did he regret it. He was so engrossed in his thoughts he did not hear the door open, and only looked up when he heard someone slide down next to him. He looked up to see Diantha, the Kalos Champion.

"Oh, it's you." Phillip mumbled.

"Yeah, it's me." Diantha replied. She had wanted to talk with Phillip ever since she had watched his match against Tyson and Lenora. It was apparent despite being socially awkward and mild mannered, he was a vicious battler when provoked. "So what happened?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about." Phillip waved it off. He had already embraced his path and over time, executed his various tasks with confidence, tact, and prestige. In the end, he had it all: respect, power, popularity, and most importantly, friends that understood him. There is no way he is going to lose it to some conscience he had. "I don't exactly regret what I did, to be frank."

Diantha was surprised. Phillip sounded colder than usual.

"Anyway." Phillip went on. "You really shouldn't associate with us. There is a reason why we seemingly isolate ourselves from the other regional guests, and why we not ordinary Elites."

He thought he should give Diantha a heads up, since she seemed like a sweet, graceful, and angelic young woman, and Phillip thought she easily gained the attention (and affection) of her fans easily. It wouldn't be fair to taint someone like that.

With his message delivered, he left the rooftop, leaving Diantha to her thoughts.

Unknown to Phillip, Diantha had an adventurous side to her, and loved to take risks. She had decided to investigate the PAL Elites, and why Phillip was determined to stop her from associating with him. The thought of investigation plan made her see it as an adventure, and she was excited to execute it right away.

* * *

"I am going to take out an ad in _The PAL Times,_ and let the guests know about the upcoming fashion show, which as usual, I have to be the host." Jude groaned, as he drank his grape juice. They were having lunch together as usual, but Phillip needed time to think, so he was up in the rooftop. "Rosaline, do you think you can design the ad, and make is attractive and professional looking?"

"Sure, but when is the fashion show?" Rosaline asked.

"It's in two days. Is it enough time to get the ad in?" Jude asked.

"Well, it'd be cutting it close, but I'll take care of it." Rosaline nodded.

"Knew we could count on you." Jude smiled. "You know, I'm glad you made it into the Elite, really."

"Thanks." Rosaline smiled. Jude was always one of the friendlier ones in the Elite (alongside her), and even when she came to try for the last Elite spot, he was the only one who was nice to her, while the others were polite but cool, and her attempt to connect with those two were mediocre at best.

He was also somewhat lenient, giving her full marks for the interview section. However, it was not enough to impress Phillip and Pakura, which was why Pakura decided to give her three weeks to become a professional Hunter working for a specific department, and Jude was the only one who believed she could make it, while Phillip was sceptical. Pakura had no comment, merely telling them to wait for the results.

As she got in, Pakura decided to let her be the second member, although in terms of authority, Jude still had more say than she does, as he was the one that willingly gave the second spot to her.

Sometimes, even without telling Jude what was bothering her, talking to Jude makes her feel better that her life as a PAL Elite member would be just fine. Maybe it's just knowing that there is a friendly face in the Elite.

She may not be able to sense emotions like the Dragon Duo (she had heard a rumour that the Dragon Duo can sense and manipulate emotions. Though she doesn't know if it's actually true, the rumours in PAL are rarely false, so she assumed it was real), but she is still one of the strongest psychics in the region, and she is somewhat well-versed in non-verbal communication (though she isn't as good as Pakura).

Rosaline couldn't help but wonder if Jude was missing something in his life, as when she looked into his eyes, she could sense the uncertainty, as if he knew something was missing but did not know what. Now she thought of it, the same look was on Phillip's eyes as well, when he returned for lunch.

She felt the same way too, like something was missing. Maybe it had something to do with the mysteries.

And as part of the PAL Elite, she will get to the bottom of this.

 **BP: Finally, this chapter is done! Please read what I have to say below**

 **As you all know, I have been really busy with my assignments, and my term break is now used to finish what I had to do. I needed to make two Learning Centers for children, and five activities each, which means I have to make 10 activities for the children, and I have a feeling that I need the remaining week of term break to make all 10 activities.**

 **In addition, I have a portfolio that required taking pictures of my lessons with the children (Yes I am a student childcare teacher, don't ask why I am there when I don't like children, it's because my parents told me to put job opportunities over interest. If I had my way, I'd choose a writing course by now.)**

 **So yeah, that is why I haven't been updating often, so please forgive me.**

 **I am trying to make AV as different as possible, and in addition to developing my PAL fanfiction project, I am also juggling with making the pages for my PAL wikia. Please check it out if you can (Note: I may not own some of the images I posted there, as the wikia is purely for my fanfiction project), and if possible, please add some pages and information I may have missed out at the existing pages. Mysterypink98 was supposed to help, but…let's just say I am doing most of the work here, and juggling this project with my assignments is no joke.**

 **I would appreciate it if you readers would help me out with my wikia page (I haven't even finished the Elites profile, I was that busy. Mysterypink98 is supposed to write Rosaline's but for some reason she hasn't even wrote anything on that page, and I was the one who added the images.)**

 **Please note that there may be spoilers as to what I have posted in the wikia so far, as the wikia is based on the ideas I have on the story, and the character pages may reveal a rough plotline I thought about and want to use for my future chapters.**

 **I am sorry if Gary, Paul and Tracey didn't appear in this chapter, as well, I couldn't find a role for them to play in this chapter. I promise I'll see what I can do in the next chapter.**

 **Also, I had a little writer's block as I had to focus my energy to for my assignments and my creativity into making those activities for Learning Centers. As this chapter was written rather hastily, I am sorry if it was bad. I had no idea what I was writing half the time *chuckle***

 **For those who wonder why there are spoilers in the wikia, it's because I won't have time to update the wikia in tune with my chapters, which is why I told you to check it out at your own risk (though I'd appreciate it if I can get help for the wikia due to the fact that I'm a very busy person)**

 **So anyway, suggestions are welcome (any suggestions would do, just give me some so I know what to write for the next chapter as you can see I am out of ideas), and please review! I hope to get many reviews so I can be encouraged to keep writing!**

 **For those who wishes to check out the wikia page, it's called the PAL Series Wikia (if link doesn't work). Do help contribute if you can!**

 **P.S: What do you think of the new cover page? And for those who can't access the Wikia, please check the link on my profile at the last line, and remember to remove all spaces.**


	6. Meeting of the Champions,a seed of doubt

**BP: I know, it has been way too long since I last updated this AV story. Ok, so let me say this: mysterypink98 has started on her tertiary education, and unfortunately, she had chosen JC (Junior College) instead of Polytechnic, which means she would be even busier than I am, as JC is not entirely Project based curriculum (they still have homework), and of course, she has to learn how to study independently if she wants to survive JC. What is more, she did much better than I did in O Levels, which means she got to a really good JC.**

 **So as you can see, she is much more busy, which leaves me to continue the Fanfiction Project by myself (Yes, I know, but don't forget I was the one who came up with the original concept.), and for her character Rosaline, I would have to work with what she told me about her at the moment.**

 **As she is busy now, this means she won't update Deviantart, which leaves me to create an account in Deviantart and post the pictures I have made about the PAL Elites there. Please do take a look at my Deviantart page, where I would post pictures I have made of the PAL Elite Four, and update my journals on how my Fanfiction stories are doing, and new ideas of a future chapter or even ideas of a new story I would have. Please give comments on what you think of the pictures I made via photoshop and Rinmaru Games, and give comments on what you think of those ideas when I post them in my Journal.**

 **I decided to revolve my Pokémon story ideas which would take place in my fanmade region, PAL, or even the PAL Elites having adventures in alternate universe, such as Ace Attorney or something. I call this the PAL Fanfiction Project, and to promote my stories, characters and information on this region, I created the PAL Series Wikia. Feel free to add new pages or edit the current pages I have created so far (actually I really need you all to help me create and edit pages)**

 **Unfortunately, I cannot draw, which means I can't made a good artwork on my characters, and neither can I request a commission *sobs* because I don't have the money to afford points and my parents would kill me if I used real money to buy what they call "fake" stuff on the Internet. I would appreciate some fanart for my characters though *sigh*.**

"Well, by the time Aquamarine is through with me, I'd be unrecognizable, I guess." Pakura sighed, running a hand though her silky hair. "Aquamarine already became an overnight star with her dresses and costumes for me in various events."

They were talking about the upcoming Contest Battle Rounds and even the PAL Showcase that she is going to judge alongside Kalos Queen Aria. Somehow, Pakura managed to steer the conversation of Cynthia to something else, though it wasn't without difficulty. This is saying something, considering she has a natural charisma that draws people to her.

"I don't see how her prep would make much difference, considering your natural beauty." Ash retorted, munching on his chicken. "Besides, the opening ceremonies made us unforgettable in the audience's eyes. We already won them over. They can't stop talking about us."

"Why do we even have to make an impression to the crowd and make them love us anyway?" Pakura wondered, starting on her pudding.

"That is because in the event that there is a tie in the match, it is up to the audience to decide who moves on to the next round. You want those votes to go to you so you can move on, right?" Ash raised his eyebrows.

"Do we have to?" Pakura tossed a newspaper at Ash that displayed the predictions on who would be the winner of the tournament, which showed the five of them among the favourites.

Ash laughed, and shook his head. "Not really, but it's best to make sure they don't vote for your opponent."

Pakura nodded. Ash does have a point. "I look forward to opening the Battle Rounds, and the PAL Showcase. The winner of that Showcase not only earns a special Princess Key to enter the Master Class Tournament in any region, she also has a chance to take my PAL Duchess title away from me after all...if the winner chooses me as their opponent in the Special Rounds, since the winner would have a choice between me and Aria."

Unlike Kalos, where whoever wins the Master Class Tournament gets the title of Kalos Queen (or at least when Pakura was still a Performer in Kalos), in PAL, winners of the Master Class Tournament would have a final freestyle performance showdown against the current PAL Duchess.

After the performances are done by both the PAL Duchess and the Master Class winner, the audience would vote with their Glowcaster as to whose performance was better. If the current PAL Duchess won, she gets to keep her title. Otherwise, the current PAL Duchess would be forced to give up their title to the challenger. That was how Pakura got the title, by dethroning the previous PAL Duchess, and how she was able to defend her title.

Pakura thought back on the time that in addition of being an icon for the Kalos Region when she got her Kalos Queen title for the first time, she also had to travel to collect more Princess Keys in order to enter the Master Class Tournament just for a chance to defend her Kalos Queen title, before deciding to give up that title to move on to greater things. But by the time she gave up, they had changed the system similar to PAL's Master Class Showcase.

"Please, you're a member of the PAL Elite Four, there is no way the winner would be able to take that title away from you." Ash waved his hand dismissively.

"You never know what those Performers would have up their sleeves." Pakura replied, watching the wild Eevee chase her own tail in mild interest. "Besides, if I do lose my title, it's one less thing I would be busy with." As PAL Duchess, she often had to travel the region to do Showcase performances for her fans, and attend dance parties that is hosted for Pokémon Performers.

"The fans won't be happy that you lost your title, though." Ash pointed out. "After all, you're the most popular Performer in the Showcase World, even more popular than Kalos Queen Aria."

"That's true, but remember Aria has only the Kalos Queen title to go by." Pakura said, as her Sylveon started rubbing her head affectionately on her leg. That caused Pakura to scratch her behind her ear absent-mindedly, which caused her to purr in contentment. Eevee, seeing this, frowned, and leapt on Pakura's lap, demanding attention as well.

"What are you going to do with her?" Ash looked down at the wild Eevee.

"I don't know. On one hand I already have all the Eeveelutions I want." Pakura mumbled. "If this Eevee wants to evolve, I don't want her to evolve into an Eeveelution I already have. On the other hand, she has a beautiful dance that may aid my performances in Contests or Showcases. Maybe she would be an able battler with the right training, I mean she may be able to use her dancing skills to dodge many attacks and make unpredictable movements or something."

" **I won't evolve if you wish to."** Eevee offered, interrupting their discussion. **"I haven't decided what I wanted to evolve to anyway."**

"Or you don't know what you can evolve into, besides the Sylveon next to you." Ash remarked. Judging by Eevee's sheepish look, Ash had guessed correctly.

"You want to tell her?" Pakura asked.

"Sure. Eevee, listen carefully. Depending on how you are raised, you can evolve in eight different ways, which would actually offer lots of different possibilities in battles or performances. You can evolve into Flareon, a Fire-type-"

"Only I am not a fan of Fire-type Pokémon." Pakura interrupted.

"Right…" Ash shot her a look." Also, you can evolve into Leafeon, a Grass type-"

"Not my taste either." Pakura commented.

Ash sighed, and went on, "Or Umbreon, a Dark-type."

Pakura considered for a moment, before shaking her head.

"Glaceon, an Ice-type, which unfortunately, she already has one."

"Too true." Pakura nodded.

"Espeon, a Psychic-type, which she said it isn't to her taste…" Ash rolled his eyes. "You can also evolve into Jolteon, an Electric-type, Vaporeon, a Water-type…."

"I don't really want to evolve Eevee with stones." Pakura frowned at the prospect.

"And the one you already know, Sylveon, the Fairy-type." Ash indicated to Pakura's Sylveon.

"Well, I don't exactly want to evolve the next Eevee I catch, I do like Eevee just the way it is." Pakura said after a long pause.

Eevee's eyes sparkled at the evolving potential that she naturally had, but remembered what Pakura said, so she replied with, **"That's great! But I guess I'll have to try not to evolve."**

"Then we'll have to get you an Everstone." Ash replied. "And after that problem is solved, you won't have a problem taking her in, would you, Paku?"

Pakura sighed, as she cleared their empty plates so that Room Service could collect them again. "I'll admit….no, I won't. But I don't have an empty Pokéball with me. You'll have to wait until I get some from my Secret Base or from my room at the Tower."

Ash nodded. Each of the PAL Elite Four member, including him, owns a Secret Base, which is a special getaway place they usually go to relax and hide from the press and fans if necessary. Sometimes, due to the quiet environment that usually surrounded their Secret Bases, they would go there to get their work done as well.

His own Secret Base was located in a bush that is hidden among the grasses that are as high as his shoulders and trees in the forest, that no one would be able to spot the entrance unless they venture deep into the tall grasses (which most don't, for fear of dangerous wild Pokémon, and the fact that it gave off a sinister feeling that it may have hidden traps. The few that dared to try usually ran back out screaming, as they would somehow trip on a wire that Ash had set to give them the impression there is a trap in there.)

Inside his Base, however, was designed like a typical study room, complete with a computer and TV to get updates on the news in the safety of his Secret Base, bookshelves filled with books, and even a bed and pantry full of food in case he wanted to stay overnight. He usually went there to do his paperwork when he is travelling around the region.

" **Virgil! Where are you?"** A cute little voice cried out from outside the hotel room. Ash frowned, as he recognized the voice, and rushed out to open the door. Sure enough, an Eevee was wandering outside along the corridors, calling for her owner, whose name is apparently Virgil.

"Where did you come from?" Ash sighed, picking up Virgil's Eevee, who titled her head.

"We should bring her to the receptionist. The owner would probably look for them there." Pakura said.

Ash nodded. "You bring her there, then. I got to work on the Dragon Duo case."

'Of course, he's hell-bent on solving that disappearance case...' Pakura inwardly sighed, as she reluctantly took the Eevee into her arms, watching Ash leave the scene with his Pikachu and Lucario. That did not please the wild Eevee, however, and Pakura ended up putting Virgil's Eevee on the ground, and they began making their way to the elevator.

Once they got to the lobby however, there was a young adult frantically asking if they had seen an Eevee. Virgil's Eevee let out a happy cry when she saw her trainer. She bounded towards her owner, and jumped into his arms, nuzzling his cheek affectionately.

"Thanks for taking care of my Eevee…Oh!" Virgil looked up, and seeing Pakura, blushed a bright red. He had to admit that the girl in front of him was extremely beautiful. What was more, he recognized her as one of the PAL Elite Four members, and the current regional Princess.

Pakura and Sylveon looked at each other, and Virgil wondered what Pokémon Pakura had at her side. With that thought, he took out his National PokéDex, which was one of the prizes he won back in the Vertress Conference.

"Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon and an evolved form of Eevee. Sylveon affectionately wraps its ribbon-like feelers around its trainer's arms as they walk together. It can also send a soothing aura from its ribbon-like feelers to calm fights." The PokéDex read the entry out loud.

" **She's so beautiful!"** Eevee was admiring Pakura's Sylveon.

" **Thank you."** Sylveon replied, petting Eevee on the head with one of her feelers.

"How did you evolve your Eevee into a Sylveon?" Virgil wanted to know, as judging by his Eevee's expression, he was sure his Eevee wanted to evolve into a Sylveon. He had also watched Sylveon's capabilities in an old Pokévision video where Pakura had given an exhibition performance, and was dazzled by the powerful Fairy-type moves that Sylveon was able to use.

"You have to learn a Fairy-type move and more importantly, your Eevee has to love you very much. Otherwise, she won't be able to evolve into a Sylveon." Pakura replied simply, shifting the wild Eevee so that she was nestled comfortably in her arms. "You have to figure out how to evolve your Eevee into a Sylveon yourself to grow as a Pokémon Trainer. Otherwise, you don't deserve to win that Vertress Conference five years ago."

With that, she left the hotel, leaving a determined Virgil, who wanted to prove himself to her that he was worthy of that trophy all those years ago.

* * *

Phillip sat near the lake, playing a game on his 3DS console called Ace Attorney, while his Pokémon were out enjoying the scenery. Earlier, he had been called to the Gamer's Paradise Headquarters to test out this game before they sell it to the public. Apparently, according to the creators of the said game, the game was made based on real cases, and the people were real too.

Phillip knew this was true, as the Hunter's Associations are affiliated with various organizations all over the world, and that includes the law firm that is stated in the games. He thought it would be nice to meet all those game characters in person one day.

Subsequently, he knew that there was already a Pokémon Game where the player gets to explore their region and challenge the Pokémon League there produced in their country, and according to the creators there, most of the players' favourite character in the game was Pakura. Phillip shook his head at the thought. Of course, Pakura would be their favourite. After all, she was also the most popular Elite member in the PAL region as well.

So far, Phillip had enjoyed the court battles, though he wished he was able to play as a prosecutor in the trials, as every time he played a case, the defendant always gets a "Not Guilty" as a verdict. It gets boring after a while.

'Sigh, we have such a big world out there, sometimes we forget in some countries, there are no Pokémon at all, only animals.' Phillip thought, as he began the Cross-Examination, being careful not to get a penalty. 'And the Kurain Channelling Technique is such a cool ability! It's like the user is a medium for communication with the dead!'

" **How's the game so far?"** Pachirisu looked over his shoulder into the screen.

"It's definitely fun." Phillip replied, thinking of his next move. "I am going to approve of the production in our region once I am done with the game. Although, I won't mind playing as a prosecutor once in a while. I mean, a Not Guilty verdict for every trial is….getting old."

" **Too true."** His Mawile walked over to him. **"So have you imagined yourself playing a role in the game?"**

"Well, I guess if the five of us were in, Rosaline would be a detective, since she's a Crime Hunter and all, but I am sure she wants to stand in the courtroom since that is where the main action is, so I'll say she would be a Defense Attorney." Phillip said.

" **How about you?"** Raichu came over to ask.

"I guess I'll be the detective, I am not cut out to battle in court. Pakura, on the other hand would be a Prosecutor, and I am sure she would have a perfect win record, even against the other Defense Attorneys I have played as so far."

" **And Jude?"** Aegislash decided to join the group discussion.

"Definitely a Defense Attorney. I'm sure he'll be a really cool one, as I imagine he would be working in the entertainment industry as well."

" **How about Champion Ash?"** Emolga asked, flying over to them.

"Well…..I am sure he'll be a Prosecutor. Maybe he used to be a Defense Attorney or something." Phillip chuckled nervously. "Or would that be Pakura?" Being the smartest of the group, Phillip had suspected Pakura was keeping things from them, but left it alone because perhaps her mysterious past (nobody knew of her life before she became an Elite Four member) was too painful for her to speak of. Maybe she was just like him, if not worse, in terms of childhood.

The ironic thing about the PAL Elites is that each one of the members, with the exception of Rosaline, had something happen to them that had left them bitter and possess a dark psychology, which allowed them to become experienced Hunters, and in extension, killers. This was one of the reasons why they seemingly isolate themselves from the rest of the other regions, and only revealed themselves when the tournament started because they didn't have a choice.

This was also why Pakura dismissed Rosaline as a mere child despite Rosaline actually being older than her because Rosaline did not know what it is like to have a negative life-changing experience and felt that she was mocking them by thinking all she needed was to win the Trainer's Tournament in order to apply to be a PAL Elite Four member.

Phillip had sided the Leader, agreeing that Rosaline was not cut out to be one of them. Jude on the other hand was hesitant, as he knew that he had a double advantage against Rosaline's type specialty, and asked them to give her another chance. Jude was forced to give in when Rosaline was pitted against Pakura, whose Fairy/Ice types are at a disadvantage against Rosaline's Fire, but still lost badly despite her huge advantage.

Phillip thought at that time, Pakura wanted to kill Rosaline on the spot out of anger, but somehow managed herself, because Rosaline had fervently begged for another chance to prove herself. Pakura must have conceded she saw potential in Rosaline, as she gave her three weeks to become a professional Hunter.

That year, Phillip was asked to be one of the examiners of the Hunter Exam, and he was really surprised at Rosaline being able to harden her heart and burn her opponents to death at the Fourth Phase of the exam, not bothering giving them a quick one. He almost felt sorry that they had to make Rosaline kill her own innocence and compassion like that just to get the last spot, but then again, no one in the PAL Elite Four is innocent. Pakura had agreed to let her in once Phillip had reported back to her of what he observed in the Hunter Exam.

Phillip saved his game, closed his console and returned his Pokémon, as he had decided to get a chocolate cone at the ice cream shop at Yelado Town which was adjacent to Luonto City, which was where the Battle Arena, Battle Tower and the Plaza Hotel were located. He could do with something sweet after the events that had happened today.

* * *

Jude was at a second-hand shop, looking for a suit that he would wear to an upcoming social event. While many high-class people would turn their noses up at a shop like that, Jude on the other hand liked to explore the shop as the shop did sell some good looking suits, and all he needed was to clean and get Pakura to tailor the suit so that he could wear it. Fashion to him is more than buying the most expensive clothes to impress others.

Furthermore, not only does the shop sell clothes, they also sold other interesting stuff, such as books (Phillip actually got a repair manual from this shop once before), machine parts (which obviously would interest Phillip to help with his new invention), and the shop even sold some Usuki Doll Sets (Usuki Dolls are one of the most popular toys sold in the PAL Region).

Jude wondered if he should check the smoothie shop for a nice healthy smoothie or should he indulge a little and get some sugar energy from the bakery. A snack would do nicely while he does his admin stuff for his shop. But of course, he can do that only after getting the suit and hitting the grooming parlour for some grooming products for his Pokémon.

He finally found a navy blue tuxedo that would suit his needs just great, and was about to ask the shopkeeper to get it for him when a voice said, "I never thought you'd come here."

Jude jumped, and turned, only to sigh in relief when it was Elesa.

"Oh, hey Elesa." Jude said dispassionately. "What's up?" While it was true that had known each other before Jude moved to PAL, their relationship is strictly professional per Jude's choice. He didn't exactly want to get to a close relationship with a girl. Besides, he hasn't seen her for years already, ever since he moved to another region, but it was apparent Elesa remembered him.

"I'm here to see if I could get a cheaper but usable headphone in here, I was hoping to get a new one since my old one is wearing out." Elesa explained. "According to a magazine this second hand shop does sell good stuff."

"Couldn't you just gone to an electronics shop or something?" Jude said dryly. "Not only are you a supermodel, you also own a Pokémon Gym. Doesn't the Unova Pokémon League pay you to run your Gym?"

"Well, I have moved my Gym to another building, and that cost a lot, so I am trying to ration my pay for now." Elesa replied, frowning when she saw Jude roll his eyes.

"Ok, if you say so." Jude said shortly.

"Not all of us are as rich as you are, Jude." Elesa said, ticked off at the way he was talking to her. "And we certainly didn't have everything handed to us on a silver platter."

A heavy silence fell the moment Elesa said those words.

Jude was pissed. How dare she think he had everything handed to him on a silver platter? She was there when the police came to arrest him after his ex-girlfriend betrayed him! He had worked his way to get his position in the PAL Elite, he certainly didn't walk through the back door to be an Elite Four member immediately.

He definitely didn't buy his occupations as a variety show host and an actor (who can do his own stunts), and running his own shop was not a piece of cake either. Jude also did a lot of work just to secure a job in the Hunter's Association. The letter that offered him a modelling job here was a suggestion and a start to his new-found popularity.

What right does Elesa have to judge him anyway? She doesn't understand what he been through even when they were working together. She doesn't know about the dark psychology of the PAL Elite members (exception being Rosaline) or their Champion.

"True." Jude decided to answer smoothly after a long pause, deciding not to shout at Elesa as they were in a public shop. "But then again, if you have bothered to pull your socks up, maybe you would have the letter that would offer you everything on the said silver platter!" He raised his voice at the last word, which caused the few patrons to turn and stare at them, wondering what the commotion was about.

Jude looked at the staring audience, and shook his head. "You won't understand a thing, Elesa. You have to understand that…oh never mind, just stay away from me." With that, he left to look for the shopkeeper to get his suit, leaving a hurt Elesa behind, but also leaving her something to think about.

* * *

'If the Dragon Duo are of draconic origin, the only two place their original hometown would be either Blackthorn City in Johto or the Dragon Village in Unova.' Ash thought, sipping his hot cocoa while sitting at one of the library's computers, doing research on the Dragon Duo. 'While it is true that the PAL Region has Drákói City, where they worship Dragon Pokémon, and even have a Dragon Clan of their own, it isn't as old as Blackthorn City's. Something about them screams the fact that they are from an old tradition kind of Dragon Clan…an old tradition like the Blackthorn City Dragon Clan.'

He gave a thought about their own regional Dragon Clan, most whom lived in Drákói City. Most Trainers in that city admired great Dragon users, such as Champion Lance and the members of the Dragon Duo, and aspired to be like them. Most of the trainers born there also end up being Dragon-type specialists, or at least favouring Dragon-type Pokémon in their team.

The Dragon Clan there seemed to possess a sacred weapon called the Dragon Blade located at the shrine. This blade apparently allows the user to cut and absorb their opponents' aura, which is a useful ability.

The weapon was around 4 inches long and has a diamond blade sharper than any razor, and it is said that the handle would expand and wrap perfectly around the user's hand when engaged. However, there was a catch. The blade seemed to have a mind of its own and apparently can choose their owner. If someone it disapproves of attempts to wield it, spikes would protrude from the handle of that blade in order to force them to release their grasp.

However, the last time Ash had visited them with Pakura, the Elders of the Clan told them that the Dragon Blade had been taken years ago, without giving anymore details.

'As much as I like to think the Dragon Duo came from there, I doubt it.' Ash thought, deciding to check the list of Blackthorn residents (current and former) first. Not surprising, he saw a lot of them having the D for Deceased next to their names, since he had overheard Lance and Clair talking about the massacre of the Clan members that happened six years ago. The exceptions were Lance, Clair, and three other names Ash was sure were the names of children.

'Wait a minute…' Ash counted the number of names listed, and tallied it with the population of Blackthorn City. The number of names were one less than the total population of Blackthorn City (in this case, the population includes the deceased and alive members)

" **Somebody must've erased the information of one of the Blackthorn City members."** Lucario commented, coming over to see what Ash was doing.

"Indeed." Ash replied. But it occurred to him that the website he was accessing was the Hunter Website, and no one can actually remove information from the website itself without the permission of the Hunter's Association (only the PAL Elites can do that without getting their approval, but then again, no one except Phillip actually knew how to do that, as it involves some very complicated procedure).

"Whoever took those information away must have been a Hacker Hunter." Ash deduced. "Or at least they are a Hunter with Phillip's calibre. How else can they remove information from a Hunter Website?"

" **We got to find out whose information was removed, and why the person would remove it."** Pikachu said. **"I have a feeling whoever removed it is connected to the mysteries somehow."**

"If what you say is true, Pikachu, then that means whoever is causing these has a connection to Blackthorn City." Ash said. "At least we are one small step closer to the identity of our culprit now."

* * *

"You're not doing your hair again, are you?"Max was watching Dawn comb her hair at the dressing table in her room she shared with Misty, May and Iris.

Misty and Iris were out with Brock, Cilan and Trip, probably buying some takeout for them or looking for something to cheer Max up. He had woken up from his nightmare a few hours ago, and he was still somewhat shaken by them. "If you keep that up, your hair is going to fall out!"

"Go away, Max." May replied. "What do you know about having beautiful hair?"

"Well, I'm right about it falling out." Max replied. "Look at your comb."

Dawn did, and shrieked as she saw tangles of hair at the teeth of the comb.

"Oh no!" Dawn cried. "What do I do?"

"Get a hair transplant." Max replied, laughing at his own sick joke. May frowned, thinking the nightmares must have messed with Max's head.

"I think the comb is too old." May said to Dawn. "Let's go out and get a new one."

Dawn nodded, and they prepared to go explore the shops to find a new comb. Max tagged along with them, making sarcastic remarks all the way, which Dawn and May had learned to tune out. Dawn may have spent her allowance on burgers and movies, but she made sure she saved enough to buy beauty products, which means she certainly can afford a new comb.

"Hey, why don't we check that out?" May pointed to a shop that had caught her eye. Judging by the fact that the signboard was decorated with pictures of beautiful women and some products such as lipstick and perfume, it must be a beauty shop.

Dawn nodded in agreement, and they entered the beauty parlour, admiring the various products on sale. Max wrinkled his nose in annoyance, but followed them in.

"Look, this is just what we need!" May pointed out. It was a beautiful pink comb with little silver studs along the side. The studs sparkled in the shop lights like diamonds.

"Wonder if I would be able to afford that…" Dawn trailed off when a girl with flowing red hair and doe brown eyes entered the shop with an Espeon. Before anyone could react, she went up to the shelf where the beautiful pink comb was displayed, took the comb from the display, and proceeded to go to the cashier to pay for the item.

Dawn was infuriated. How dare the girl just show up and take the very same comb she had her eye on? That comb was hers! She stormed up to the girl, and rudely hit her on the shoulder hard.

The disguised Dragon Princess was surprised at being hit, and turned to face a livid Dawn. The Dragon Princess had decided to disguise herself with an illusion and go to town as she needed more ingredients to make meals so she can eat at the cave, and groceries to stock up her pantry. Furthermore, she had needed a new comb as she accidentally broke her old one back at the cave, and she didn't have any spare ones, which was why she decided to make her way to the beauty shop while she was at it.

"Can I help you?" The Dragon Princess asked, taking Dawn's hand off her shoulder. As she did, she activated her Psychometry ability, allowing her to see into Dawn's memories. She saw flashes of Dawn, alongside the girl and the boy with him and a few others, talking bad about a boy named Ash and planning to tell him to stop his worthless dreams, killing his mother and burning her house, and later framing Ash himself, jeering at him as he basked in despair, before he somehow escaped using teleportation.

Before the Dragon Princess could even clearly register the memories she had gleaned from Dawn, Dawn replied, "Yes, you can. Hand over that comb. I saw it first, so it's mine."

May was glaring at the girl, while Max looked her up and down, before deciding Pakura was more beautiful.

"This?" The Dragon Princess looked at the comb. "Well, you see I need it because my only comb was broken and-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses." Dawn interrupted. "Give that comb here."

May and Max decided to intervene by walking towards her with a menacing look in their faces. Espeon saw this, and his eyes glowed blue, and the three of them were first surrounded by the blue glow and then floated into the air.

"Hey, what the?" Max shouted. "Put us down!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." The Dragon Princess mock apologized. "My Espeon is really protective of me. When he saw you were about to attack, he used Psychic to prevent you from reaching me."

"What is going on here?" The saleslady apparently heard the commotion and went over to check. Beside her was a Gardevoir, though the Dragon Princess noted that the Gardevoir was male and he doesn't have a Mega Stone like hers.

"She was trying to take the comb that I saw first! It was supposed to be mine!" Dawn pointed at the Dragon Princess while still being afloat. "Now she is using her Espeon to attack us with Psychic!"

"I'll know the truth soon enough." The saleslady replied, and nodded to Gardevoir, who read all their minds as to what had happened. When Gardevoir opened his eyes, he shook his head at the saleslady, indicating the three were lying, and the Psychic was self-defence on Espeon's own part.

"How dare you three lie to me?" The saleslady glared at the three of them. "I do not tolerate people claiming an unsold property as their own as shops always have the policy of first come, first served. I do not tolerate your kind in here. Would you like the honour of throwing the trash out?" She turned to the Dragon Princess.

The Dragon Princess nodded to her Espeon, and her Espeon promptly threw them out, slamming the shop door in their faces.

"Ouch….how dare she treat her customers this way?" Dawn rubbed her hip, as that was where she landed when Espeon threw her to the ground.

"Yeah, I'm going to my dad and suing her. As the Gym Leader, I'm sure he would have enough influence to fire that saleslady." May said. "Come on, now I know the kind of scum that shops here…We'll do better at another shop."

Meanwhile, the saleslady apologized for the trouble that her customers had caused the Dragon Princess, and she dismissed it. As an apology, the saleslady insisted that she took a whole hamper of beauty products and cosmetics for free.

"I can't do that." The Dragon Princess said. "You have a business to run."

"Oh don't worry about that." The saleslady chirped happily. "Aquamarine Alexandrite, Princess Pakura's personal stylist, uses most of my products and cosmetics for Princess Pakura's prep, you know...well, alongside other brands, of course! She needs the variety. She pays me a lot for those items, and the amount she pays me, it's enough for me to buy a nice apartment in this region!"

"Ok...if you say so…." The Dragon Princess reluctantly accepted the free hamper, and walked out of the shop with them along with her new comb.

" **Have no heart to tell her you actually don't use makeup?"** Espeon laughed.

"Maybe I can take some of them such as a lip balm, lotion or perfume if I can. It can't hurt taking the shampoos and soaps either, considering it's a necessity. The rest I'll just send anonymously to Aquamarine's Style. The saleslady did say that Aquamarine uses them when preparing Pakura anyway." The Dragon Princess replied. "Still, that was awfully nice of her. But…" She trailed off.

" **What's wrong?"** Espeon asked.

"I'll tell you when we get back to the cave." The Dragon Princess replied.

* * *

"Can we help you?" Diantha asked a woman that had just stepped out of the elevator into their quarters.

"You are needed in the Hunter's Association Headquarters. Apparently one of the regional Champions requested an audience with Chairman William, and he decided to call all the Champions for a meeting. The topic of meeting depends on the Champion that requested an audience. I'm just here to escort you. Please follow me." The woman replied.

Diantha nodded, as she followed the woman into the elevator.

Diantha decided to make small talk with the woman. "Your region really gives the best accommodations to guests."

"We may be the richest, but with this comes danger." The woman replied. "Many Pokémon Poachers seek the Pokémon flocking here to relax, especially the Legendaries. All of us believe in protecting our Pokémon like how they would do us if we are in danger. That is why we train to fight, and in order to keep the crime rate low, we are allowed to kill as long as we have a Hunter's License."

"Does it include the PAL Elite members?" Diantha asked.

The woman nodded, as they exited the Battle Tower. "I can safely say that not only are they Elite members, they are also professional Hunters, and therefore experienced killers, which makes them extremely dangerous. Our Elite members protect our region alongside those working in the Hunter's Association."

The woman sent out her Gyarados, and beckoned for Diantha to get on, as they are flying to the building, since walking would be quite a hassle due to its distance from the Battle Tower itself. Diantha admired the view from where she was, as the region looked very beautiful even from up the sky.

Diantha noticed a huge white building which had at least ten stories, which she assumed was where official business was usually conducted. She thought the building would house several offices and departments.

The woman noticed her looking in awe and said, "All the workers have their own offices and we do have several meeting rooms in each floor as well. We installed a cafeteria in case they didn't have the time do go out to eat due to their workload. Even our own Elite members have their own offices, though they rarely use it."

"Who asked for the meeting anyway?" Diantha asked.

"Cynthia." The woman replied.

Trailing a few steps behind that woman, Diantha tried to collect herself from what the woman had told her so far. She wondered if that was what Phillip meant when he said it is best not to associate with him. The woman lead her to one of the meeting rooms, which Diantha noticed was high-tech, as it was complete with computerized talking walls, electronic maps showing the movements of various Hunters out on a mission, and a giant rectangular table with control panels. There was also a television screen, where it was currently tuned to the PAL Newscaster, though it was currently muted.

The other regional Champions (except Champion Red) were already assembled and seated around the huge table, and no one looked particularly happy. A young man whom Diantha assumed to be William looked up from his files, and said, "Thank you, Aquarius."

"Aquarius?" Diantha was puzzled.

"Oh, the Zodiac member each have a codename that they call each other by, based on the star signs they represent. Ryoko here represents the sign of Aquarius." William explained.

Ryoko bowed to the Chairman, and said, "I'll take my leave now, Chairman Anderson." With that, she exited the room.

"All right." William said, as the door closed. "Sit down, please, Champion Diantha." Diantha took a seat between Lance and Wallace, wondering what was going on, and why would Cynthia ask for an audience with the Chairman of the Hunter's Association.

William got to the point. "I called you all here today because Champion Cynthia had requested an audience with me. I would like your input on this, because apparently it is an international problem, rather than a regional one. Champion Cynthia, your request please."

"Chairman William, do you know about the Delia Ketchum murder case six years ago?" Cynthia asked.

'I have a bad feeling of where this is going.' Wallace, Lance and Diantha thought.

"Yes, the Hunter's Association has heard of this case before, but we didn't really think it was important, considering it doesn't actually involve us." William replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I would like for you to assign one of your Hunters to capture Ash alive, if possible." Cynthia said calmly. "Our sources believe that he is still in hiding, and is still alive. We believe he is hiding in this region, due to the fact that this region had been isolating itself before the tournament."

"Cynthia, did you actually witness the murder yourself?" Lance spoke up. "According to the case file, all you saw was Ash holding his mother with the knife that is the murder weapon. For all you know, she was already dead when he found her and took out the knife from her, and you came in just in time."

Cynthia sighed. "I don't want to implicate Ash either, but all evidence points to him. What is more, we have witnesses in the form of Trip, Brock, Misty, May, Max, Dawn, Cilan and Iris."

"The report started that their testimonies are exactly the same. What more do you want, Lance? A footage of the murder itself? Do you wish to let the faint-hearted be sick before you are satisfied?" Steven interrupted.

"Lance has a point." Wallace said, frowning at his friend. "For all we know, the 8 of them could be conspiring against this Ash boy, and they are lying."

"I agree if there is one witness, but eight of them?" Alder was incredulous.

"That is why I wish to enlist the Hunters of PAL to capture Ash, so we can deal with him." Cynthia said. Although this broke her heart a little, as she had loved him, she had to do her duties as Sinnoh's Champion. "There is also something else: The residents of Pallet Town have gone missing four years ago, and we believe Ash had kidnapped them."

"Look, the locals in the PAL Region actually do not believe Ash is the murderer, and neither do we." William interrupted. "What is more, where do you think Ash can hide those Pallet Town residents?"

"Maybe he killed them too?" Alder suggested.

"If that is so, the bodies of those residents should be found by now, wouldn't you say?" William countered. Steven opened his mouth, but William interrupted with, "A dead body does float in water you know. If you are suggesting he dumped the bodies in the sea full of Carvanha and Sharpedo, wouldn't be he caught by now?"

The Champions stayed silent. William had a point.

"Besides, if Ash managed to evade you and all the Officer Jennies from around the six regions all these years, then I don't see how our Hunters can do any better, unless you are suggesting we send down Pakura."

"Pakura?" Diantha finally spoke up. "Why would you send her?"

"She may not look it, but she is the best assassin in the PAL Region. She can track down any of her targets, and she never misses a target she is chasing down. But the problem is, she kills all her targets, so if you want Ash alive to pass down judgement, then you can forget it." William replied.

A shudder ran though the people in the room at the implications William has made about their regional Princess.

"Look, if he is really in our region like you said, I say since this is our region, we have the right to hold a trial for him." William went on.

"What's the point of a trial?" Alder asked. "The boy's guilty. There are 8 witnesses to this crime. They saw him stab the knife in his mother's chest, and he tried to kill them too when he saw them. They had to be treated for trauma. A year later, the residents of Pallet Town went missing."

'I have a feeling they were pretending.' Lance thought. 'I don't believe a boy who would do anything to save his friends and Pokémon would suddenly become a cold hearted killer. Besides, there is no way he would kidnap his own neighbours.'

"I think it's fair to hear him out in a trial." Diantha said.

"We ae going off topic here." Steven interrupted. "The purpose of this meeting was to request for Chairman William to assign a Hunter to capture Ash alive."

"Yeah, that's right." Cynthia agreed.

"Have you tried looking for him yourselves?" Wallace asked.

"We tried. We even alerted all the Officer Jennies to keep a lookout for him whenever they were sent on a police mission." Cynthia said, her tone taking a serious turn. "We couldn't find a trace of him, which makes us believe he is hiding in this region as we had never searched here….wait, why are you asking? Don't tell me you didn't alert your Officer Jennies."

"I didn't see a reason to, actually." Steven admitted. "I mean, why would he hide in his own Kanto region? That would be stupid."

"Neither did I." Wallace added.

Lance and Diantha shook their heads, indicating they didn't alert their own Officer Jennies either.

Cynthia let out an exasperated sigh. Did the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Kalos regional Pokémon League randomly pick their Champions?

"I think Steven, Wallace, Lance and Diantha did the right thing in not alerting those Officer Jennies." William said after a long pause. "Do you actually want a boy dead? He's only like….20 years old, if he is still alive today."

"We do not want him dead." Cynthia replied. "We want him to be captured alive so he can face punishment for the crime he did, and question him on the whereabouts of his neighbours."

"Then I think you looked into the wrong place." William said coolly. "First of all, we mostly kill our targets. Secondly, we don't believe Ash Ketchum actually killed his mother, or kidnapped his neighbours. Unless you really have proof other than the 8 witnesses whom I think are frauds, then we won't send Hunters to hunt the boy down."

"What? How dare-!" Alder started, but was quietened with a glare from Cynthia.

"So what do you propose?" Cynthia asked evenly.

"So let me get this straight: You want to enlist our services to capture Ash Ketchum because he is wanted for the murder of his mother and needed for questioning for those residents in Pallet Town, right?" William summarized.

Cynthia nodded, her face determined.

"Ok, then what are your fees?" William asked. "Remember, since you said he is a dangerous murderer, we classify this mission under S-Rank. And if you wish to send our Hunters in an S-Rank Mission, you would have to pay more than a hundred thousand Pokédollars."

'They are paid that much for a single mission alone?' Diantha was surprised.

Cynthia weighed her options. While it is true she was paid a lot as Sinnoh's Champion, the amount of money that has to be paid for a Hunter's services would make a dent in her bank account.

"Can't say anything?" William sounded somewhat smug. "Well, then, I'll ask all of you to settle a debate. An alternative to this situation has already been placed on the table, and I would ask you Champions to decide. A majority would approve the plan. No one may abstain from the vote. What I propose is that in lieu of finding Ash Ketchum and punishing him immediately, when we find him, we would hear him out instead, and decide on the judgement based on his side of the story."

All the six Champions turned to him. "What?" Steven said.

"We hold a fair trial, with me selecting the defence attorneys and prosecutors to help with the commencing of his trial."

"Are you joking?" Alder asked.

"No. I should also tell you that if we do hold the trial, it will be known that it was done with your approval, although the individual break down of your votes will be kept secret for your own security." William told them. "You may cast your votes."

"No." Cynthia said. "We can't let a matricide like this loose in this world. Ok, I admit, it breaks my heart doing this, but it's my duty as a Champion to ensure the safety of all Trainers."

"Why not?" Lance retorted. "It seems very fair to me. We didn't hear his side of the story. I vote yes."

"So do I." Wallace added. "We can't just hand down judgement like this. What kind of Champions would we be?"

"That was why I asked for the help of the Hunter's Association!" Cynthia looked at the rest of them. "Alder?"

"I vote no with Cynthia." Alder said. "So would Iris if she was here."

"But she isn't since she foolishly bet her Champion position in a match against Rosaline." Lance reminded him.

"No." Steven said. "I vote no for our region. But if it's for myself, I'd have voted yes."

"And it's up to you, Diantha." William turned to the last Champion.

Diantha weighed her options carefully, thought everything through, and said, "I vote yes."

"Looks like we have a stalemate." William said. "It seems to me we need a seventh vote, someone who won't be biased against this."

"How about Champion Red?" Lance suggested.

William shook his head. "Unfortunately, we cannot choose him, because he was originally from the Kanto region, and he might be biased towards those from his own region. I propose we choose the next person in line."

"Princess Pakura." Steven answered.

"That's right. She was from the Johto region, so she should be fairer in her decision. She won't know the breakdown of the votes, so do not worry about that."

Cynthia wondered if Pakura would vote yes just to spite her, but Pakura did not know who Ash is, and judging by what William said, she was pretty bloodthirsty. Perhaps she would vote no just to see blood flowing.

Unknown to them, at Cynthia's collar, there was a single piece of confetti attached there.

Meanwhile, Pakura was sitting at the riverbank, holding various paper dolls, but specifically tuned in to the paper doll of Cynthia, listening to every word said in the meeting. Sylveon and Skitty were picking berries around them for Pakura.

'Try all you want, Champion Cynthia, but William is on our side. More specifically, Ash's side. And with me having the final vote, we have the chance to prove Ash's innocence.' Pakura thought. 'And I took those Pallet Town residents for a specific reason. Why would I kill them when I need them to clear Ash's name?'

* * *

A few phone calls to the Drákói City's Dragon Clan, and Ash got some more information on the Dragon Duo themselves. They were most willing to divulge more details on them when they realized just who was calling them, and they were excited that the PAL Champion and Prince somehow got their residential service number.

Apparently, the Dragon Blade used to reside in their own Dragon Shrine, in a treasure box, but there was this one day where a few people claiming to be officials from the Hunter's Association came to the Dragon Shrine to check for any suspicious activity. As they did not do anything wrong, they allowed the officials to check. However, as soon as those officials left, they realized they had stolen the treasure chest that contained the Dragon Blade.

At some point, they were visited by both members of the Dragon Duo. When they learnt of what happened, they promised to look for the Dragon Blade and return it to its rightful place. The Dragon Blade was returned to them in the said treasure box like promised, however, when the said visit was made to return that weapon, the Dragon Princess was alone, and refused to say anything about the Dragon Prince.

The Dragon Princess had silently poured her draconic power into the treasure chest, and poured holy water over it, causing a dragon made out of pure aura to emerge from the blade. The dragon streaked around the shrine, before going through the Dragon Princess, before rising into the sky and turning into a star before their very eyes.

The members of the Dragon Clan had the impression that the blade had chosen the Dragon Princess as its wielder, and encouraged her to try and touch the blade. Sure enough, the blade did not protrude out spikes when she touched it, indicating it really chose her. The members of the Clan did not interfere when she decided to take it with her in the end because the Dragon Blade had chosen her to be its owner, and they cannot argue with the blade's decision.

They also stated that barely a day after it happened, the Dragon Princess vanished, leaving a note behind. Ash made a mental note to check the old newspapers, as it's most likely they posted the note in an article or something.

'But it is known that the Dragon Duo is inseparable. They do practically everything together. But if the Dragon Princess had shown up alone at that time, it means something did happen to the Dragon Prince.' Ash thought. 'So the Dragon Prince actually vanished first, and the Dragon Princess is either in self-imposed exile or she decided to disappear along with him. She must have loved him a lot if she actually gave up her position as the regional ruler to look for him.'

Just then, the phone in the sitting room rang, and Ash went over to answer. Pikachu and Lucario watched him curiously.

"Hello?" Ash said.

"Hello Prince Red, is Princess Pakura around?" It was William. "I would like to speak to her."

"No, she isn't…" Ash trailed off as the elevator dinged, and Pakura stepped into the quarters.

"It's for you." Ash said, passing the phone to Pakura.

"Yes, Chairman William?" Pakura said.

"…"

"So it was a tie in the votes?"

"…"

"What do you want me to do?"

"…"

"The final vote goes to me? Why?"

"…"

"You want me to give the final vote now?"

"…"

"Ok, I vote yes."

"…"

"Thank you, bye." Pakura hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Ash asked.

"Oh yeah, I got to tell you something. I had eavesdropped on the regional Champions' meeting with my ability, and I heard a lot of interesting things." Pakura said.

"Tell me everything, right from the beginning." Ash replied, interested to hear what Pakura got.

Pakura obliged, and began telling what happened during the meeting, not leaving one single detail. She didn't even omit what made William decide to hold the meeting.

When she was done, Ash was thoughtful. "I see, Cynthia still doesn't believe I didn't do it, huh?"

Pakura rolled her eyes. "Obviously. She thought you were guilty because she saw you holding your mother's body and the knife, and bam! "Pakura snapped her fingers. "She assumed the worst."

"That was because she was influenced by the traitors." Ash answered, trying to defend her, but sounded unsure. Pakura immediately pounced on his timorous tone.

"Uh, no, she clearly stated that she did it as Sinnoh's Champion. It's clear she values her title more than her so-called love for you." Pakura retorted.

"Oh, what do you know about love, Paku?" Ash said cynically. "Do you love me or something?"

"I do, actually." Pakura admitted.

Ash looked at her incredulously. What?

"…Like a little brother!" Pakura hastily added, when she realized what she had just said. "Well, see you later!" With that, she retreated to her room with her Pokémon.

Ash sighed. Just as he thought, Pakura is ignorant when it comes to romantic love.

" **Quite the contrary, I think she knows the best when it comes to romance."** Lucario said, as if he had read his mind.

"What makes you say that?" Ash asked.

" **If you actually observed carefully, Ash, she has an engagement ring on her left ring finger. It means Pakura is already engaged to someone."** Pikachu sighed.

"But how come she never introduced her fiancé to us?" Ash wondered.

" **That's the question of the day, isn't it?"** Lucario shrugged.

Another question, another mystery. Does the fact that Pakura didn't introduce her fiancé to them have something to do with the mysteries in general, or even the disappearance of the Dragon Duo?

Meanwhile, Pakura closed the door, sighing in relief. Why did she just slip that out in front of him? For Arceus' sake, he was still chasing the Sinnoh Champion. What is it that Cynthia has that she doesn't? Sure, she is the most beautiful regional Champion, and is also very popular among fans, but so is…Pakura stopped this train of thought, suddenly realizing that she was comparing herself with Cynthia.

" _You might as well prepare to go to Aquamarine's Style to prep yourself for the Battle Rounds of the Contest."_ Shiki's voice interrupted her.

Pakura jumped slightly, only to see Shiki sitting on her bed.

"Oh…hi, Shiki." Pakura sighed.

Shiki gave what seemed to be a sympathetic smile. _"Look at the bright side. At least he would get a trial, and he sounded unsure when he was talking about Cynthia."_

Pakura nodded, as Shiki had a point.

"Oh no!" A voice cried from the other side of the connecting door.

Pakura rolled her eyes, but decided to check on Rosaline. When she entered the room, Rosaline was staring at her burnt dress at the ironing board. It was clear she was trying to iron one of her dresses for her dinner with Siebold, but apparently burnt it by accident. Pakura recognized the burnt dress as one of the ones that she had worn to a disco during the time where they celebrated the fact that she was taken off probation, and became an official Elite member.

"Prefer skirts and shirts, don't you?" Pakura called out, which made Rosaline jump.

"Er…yeah." Rosaline said sheepishly. "I wanted to look nice for tonight, so I thought I'd go with a dress, but it was a bit wrinkled, which is why I am ironing it, but alas…"

Pakura looked down at the soot on Rosaline's hands. "Go wash up." Pakura said curtly, and Rosaline hastily obeyed, going to the bathroom to scrub off the soot and sweat she got from her (failed) attempt at ironing her clothes. When she came out, to her surprise, Pakura had laid out one of her own stunning dresses for her. It was one of the more adorable ones, being in a soft pink colour with white lace decorating the hem and the slightly puffy sleeves. Pakura even provided a pair of pink sequined low heels that had a pink bow on each shoe.

Rosaline turned to look at Pakura, as if to ask if she was sure she would lend one of her outfits to her for her date, only to be met with a look that clearly stated not to ask. As Rosaline dressed in the clothes and wore the shoes, which was comfortable due to the fact that inside was made of satin, Pakura was behind her, helping her tie the white ribbon that was part of the outfit, which made Rosaline look very cute no matter what angle someone views her from (even behind is no exception). Pakura made her sit at the dressing table as she combed her hair back, and made it stay in place by putting a pink headband that had a pink ribbon glued to another ribbon that had dark brown polka dots on it attached to the headband itself.

Rosaline gasped at herself in the mirror. Siebold would feel like a paedophile once he sees her!

"Thanks, Pakura!" Rosaline chirped, as Pakura straightened her heart-shaped necklace.

"Take this, you worthless thing." Pakura tossed her a brown handbag that was shaped like the head of a Shiny Buneary, and left Rosaline alone to pack what she needed in her handbag.

" _She's cheap enough to accept your old dresses for a date, huh?"_ Shiki asked.

"I did outgrow those adorable dresses." Pakura replied. "And it seemed to fit her, since everyone think she's cute."

" _Why does she need to dress up tonight, anyway?"_ Shiki enquired.

"She's going on a date." Pakura replied. "That girl acts as if she deserves everything she is having right now. I don't even know why I let that idiot in in the first place."

" _I don't know why you even bother giving her a chance. Way she acts so cheerful, you would think she thought she deserved it."_ Shiki sounded disgusted.

"Yeah, I don't who she thinks she is. When she applied, her psychic powers are atrocious! I practically invented that version of her by letting her in the PAL Elite Four and agreeing to train her." Pakura spat. "Never mind, I'm going to go to Aquamarine's Style. I need to get ready for the Battle Rounds of the Contest."

* * *

"Well, whoever the Dragon Prince is, he must have originated from Blackthorn City. Why else would the information be erased? I'm ready to bet that the profile that was removed was that of the Dragon Prince." Ash said, sighing. It looked like he had to scrounge the old newspapers in the library for a clue as to who the Dragon Prince was. As Luonto City's library contained all the newspapers that is dated as far as the year PAL Region was created, it is going to be a long and dreary chore indeed.

" **Ok, you need to relax."** Pikachu said.

" **Yeah, enough information gathering for one day. Why don't we go and watch Pakura in her Contest? Manaphy is looking forward to it."** Lucario suggested.

Ash shrugged, as it couldn't hurt. He went to his room to place his case file and for a quick shower, before dressing in casual jeans and an azure shirt, complete with a black vest.

When he checked if he didn't miss anything, including his Egg case, he took the elevator to the lobby and made his way to the Contest Hall. Instead of making his way to the performance stage (which can be changed to a battlefield in the case of Contest Battles), he made his way towards Pakura's dressing room, where he saw the latter sitting at the dressing table straightening her pale pink gown, a fancy diamond necklace replaced her Mega Charm, and her Key Stone was now in the form of pretty white pearl bracelet with a tiara charm hanging from it. The tiara charm currently contained her Key Stone. Her Sylveon and Skitty were admiring their owner.

" **Beautiful, isn't she?"** Pikachu asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah. She isn't our region's Beauty Queen for nothing." Frankly speaking, he would have gone for her, if not for the fact that she did have a fiancé (albeit he had only found out earlier today), and he was still hoping to get Cynthia.

 _Are you sure?_ A voice in his head asked. Surprisingly, the voice sounded like Pakura.

Ash stayed silent, not very sure of what he actually wanted.

Pakura saw Ash's reflection behind her and said, "So, you came to watch?"

"Well, nearly half of us are involved in the event. What Champion would I be if I don't show my support?" Ash replied, walking in, and sitting on a stool next to her, placing the Egg case down next to him. In reality, while he did come to see Jude and Pakura, he was mainly interested in the combination moves Pakura would come up with, as she was scheduled to have an exhibition Contest Battle against either Wallace or Fantina.

Ash had to admit that her performances were the most beautiful that he had ever seen, and he did watch Contest Appeals and their battles during his journey as an ordinary trainer. He was only introduced to Pokémon Showcases when he travelled to Kalos, but still thought Pakura was the best Performer he had ever seen, a sentiment that the citizens of Kalos agreed to, and bemoaned the fact that she gave up her Kalos Queen title all those years ago to try and achieve something bigger.

"You might want to know this. The PAL Region is going to organize a cooking contest tomorrow afternoon." Pakura informed him. She had overheard this from Cilan via her ability to listen in to conversations. "Cilan is going to participate in it, and apparently, the judges consist of world famous chefs. The winner of course, gets an apprenticeship under the chef of his or her choosing, a large sum of prize money, a coupon giving the permission of the user a free one year supply of food from a gourmet restaurant of his choice. Cilan thinks this would enhance his A-Class Connoisseur reputation."

Just then, a woman called for Pakura to get ready, as the event would start soon, and Pakura stood up. "Well, love you. Bye." She kissed her hand, and blew. Ash shook his head, but returned her gesture in kind, as she gracefully left her dressing room.

"A cooking contest, huh?" Ash grinned, as his head began to plan a sabotage that involved Cilan. If he played his cards right, he might even be able to defame Cilan, and perhaps strip him of his Connoisseur license.

* * *

"Welcome, everyone, to the Battle Rounds of the PAL Contest!" Jude announced, as everyone cheered. "And after careful evaluation from over 300 Coordinators who participated in the Appeal Rounds, the judges have finally narrowed it down to 32 participants, which is no easy feat. Finally, here we are, with the 32 participants waiting in the dressing room for their turn to battle! Coordinators, say hello to your fans!"

The audience screamed as the screens showed the 32 participants at the dressing room waving through the camera at the crowd.

Ash got a seat in the front row, and just as he settled down with Lucario carrying his Egg case, a Pokéball opened, and out came Manaphy, who settled nicely on his lap.

" _I can't wait to see Mama battle!"_ Manaphy said excitedly.

"Me too, Manaphy." Ash petted him on his head affectionately.

"So, to kick-start the Battle Rounds, Princess Pakura would have an exhibition battle against one of her fellow judges. To decide who gets to battle her, a coin would be flipped. Heads or Tails?" Jude asked the two judges.

"Tails." Wallace said.

"Heads." Fantina replied.

"Alright, here we go!" Jude flipped a coin, and slapped it on the back of his hand. He removed his hand, which turned out to be Heads.

"So Leader Fantina would have the right to participate in the exhibition match alongside Princess Pakura!" Jude declared.

"Oh, man." Wallace groaned, somewhat disappointed.

"Don't worry, Champion Wallace. If I get a word in, maybe you can participate in a closing exhibition match or something." Pakura muttered, which caused laughter among the audience.

"Great idea." Wallace managed a smile.

"Would the two ladies please make your way to the center?"

"I hope to get a great battle, Mademoiselle Pakura." Fantina said in her French accent.

"Me too, Leader Fantina." Pakura replied shortly, as they took their places at the opposite side of each other.

"Ladies, send out your Pokémon, please."

"Ai choisis, Mismagius and Drifblim! Battle position, vous plaît!" Fantina threw two of her Pokéballs, which flew high into the air. One of the Pokéballs opened with a towering cloud of black smoke, and another opened with purple flower petals that looked somewhat ominous. When the effects combined, it looked like the flower petal were dancing around the smoke. The first Pokéball opened to reveal Drifblim, and the other opened to reveal Mismagius.

"Lapras and Aromatisse, time to shine!" Pakura threw two Pokéballs as well, and one opened with many blue bubbles, while another opened with a barrage of pink flower petals. The pink flower petals went into the bubbles, making a pretty display, before exploding into pink and blue sparkles, revealing the two Pokémon, Lapras and Aromatisse.

"Five minutes on the clock, and battle begin!" Jude announced.

"You may make your first move." Pakura offered.

"Alright, Mismaguis, Shadow Ball, and Drifblim, use Thunderbolt!" Fantina started off.

"Too easy. Lapras, use Ice Shard to intercept Shadow Ball, and before Thunderbolt hits the Shadow Ball, counter with Disarming Voice, Aromatisse." The Ice Shard destroyed the Shadow Ball, and went on to hit Mismagius before it can even dodge using Levitate, and meanwhile, the Thunderbolt was stopped by Disarming Voice, before going around the Disarming Voice to electrify the move, and making Disarming Voice look even more spectacular.

The fusion move managed to hit Drifblim, causing damage. In this instant, Fantina lost some points.

"Not bad, Mademoiselle." Fantina complimented.

"Thanks. Aromatisse, Moonblast. Lapras, Signal Beam." Pakura commanded. The Moonblast and Signal Beam fused together, and the colourful Signal Beam surrounded the beautiful pink Moonblast, making it a very pretty move indeed. Fantina lost more points, but she wasn't about to give up yet.

"Send them back with a double Psychic!" Fantina countered.

"I know you would do that. Aromatisse, Fairy Wind. Lapras, Icy Wind." The two moves fused together to form a sparkly wind that contained blue and pink sparkles that hit the two Ghost-type Pokémon. When the moves hit, the two Pokémon were shivering and trying to withstand the move. Due to this, their Psychic were deactivated, and the previous fusion move went on to his the two Pokémon, causing a colourful explosion.

'She's fast.' Fantina thought. 'She can react instantly to the moves I call out, as if she doesn't need to think, and call out a move before I can even blink. No wonder she is a Legendary Coordinator.'

"We have three minutes left on the clock!" Jude announced. Sure enough, the timer reached 3:00 and is still counting down. Fantina had lost almost half her points, while Pakura still hasn't lost any.

"Never give up, never surrender!" Fantina declared. "Drifblim, use Gust! Mismagius, Thunderbolt, and follow it up with Psychic."

'Nice work. She is trying to power up the fusion move with Psychic.' Pakura thought. "Lapras, counter that Thunderbolt with your own Thunderbolt. Aromatisse, use Energy Ball, and then use Psychic."

The two Thunderbolt moves clashed with each other and exploded, causing the both of them to lose a little bit of points, while Aromatisse managed to turn Gust from a dull grey to a beautiful glowing green with her Energy Ball, and used Psychic to hurl it towards the two Ghost-type Pokémon. Fantina lost a few more points for the fusion move.

"Mismagius, counter the move using Psywave!"

"Lapras, slow it down with Hyper Voice, and Aromatisse, use Disable." Pakura countered. The Hyper Voice managed to slow Psywave down, but at the price of the fusion move being destroyed by the Hyper Voice. However, since the sparkles is making Aromatisse shine, Pakura didn't lose more points. The Disable also prevented Mismagius from using Psywave again.

"Drifblim, help out with Acrobatics!" Fantina called out.

Pakura's eyes followed the erratic movement of Drifblim. Drifblim may be fast, but her eyes are trained to catch every movement. How else would she be able to plan a counterattack?

"Lapras, use Mist." Lapras obeyed, and opened its mouth and produced a thick white cloud to cover the entire battlefield. The two Ghost-type Pokémon were looking around for their opponents.

"Now, Aromatisse! Use Dazzling Gleam to your left. Lapras, Water Pulse." Pakura commanded. The Dazzling Gleam assaulted the evasive Mismagius. The Dazzling Gleam also made the following Water Pulse attack to shine in a brilliant light, causing Fantina to lose points.

"Mismagius, Drifblim, Ominous Wind!" The Ominous Wind blew away the Mist, making the battlefield clear once more.

"Mismagius, use Aerial Ace! Drifblim, Giga Impact!" The Aerial Ace and Giga Impact combined, making the fusion move shine in the Contest Hall lights.

"Lapras, use Dragon Pulse. Aromatisse, use Flash Cannon."

The Dragon Pulse glowed in a silver light thanks to Flash Cannon, and Aromatisse made use of Flash Cannon to propel the fusion attack to meet Fantina's fusing move head on. The two attacks clashed, causing a bright flash of light that everyone had to shield their eyes from.

"Time!" Jude called out. "And the winner of the exhibition match is…." At that point, everyone looked at the scoreboard. Fantina had a quarter of her points left, while Pakura only lost a few, judging by the looks of it.

"It's Princess Pakura!" Jude announced, and everyone cheered. Fantina and Pakura walked to the middle to shake hands to congratulate each other for the wonderful battle.

"Thanks for the battle. I had a lot of fun." Fantina said. "I look forward to the day we can have a rematch."

"Likewise." Pakura replied, and they both returned to their places at the Judges' table.

Just then, one of Pakura's Pokéballs opened, and Eevee appeared on her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek affectionately. Pakura facepalmed at the unexpected turn of events, while everyone else, including Jude and the other two judges, laughed.

" _Mama is amazing!"_ Manaphy's eyes were shining at the exhibition Contest Battle, indicating he was absolutely dazzled by it. _"I want to perform on stage too!"_

"Do you?" Ash asked, and Manaphy nodded. "I'll talk to Paku about it, then. Maybe she can include you in in a closing exhibition match or something, or even include you in her exhibition performance at the upcoming Pokémon Showcase."

" _Yay!"_ Manaphy cheered.

" **Wow, she hardly lost any points."** Pikachu commented. **"I'm glad I suggested to come down and watch this."**

" **Me too."** Lucario replied. **"Pakura is way too fast for Fantina to catch up, being able to react instantly just after the commands left Fantina's mouth, and her Pokémon's moves are speedy as well. Not to mention, she is able to ruin combinations before they are even formed."**

"Well, while both are applying battle skills to the Contest Battle, Paku has more experience, as Fantina is a Gym Leader and Paku is an Elite Four member." Ash said, nodding in agreement to Lucario's comment. "The results were already decided even before the exhibition match started."

* * *

"I hope Pakura doesn't mind that I borrow her cosmetic case." Phillip sighed, as he found the said item on the table of the living room. He looked at his hopeful female Pokémon, and sighed again. "Pakura just had to get bored and groom you all for a short few minutes each, and now you want more." He was watching the TV, but his female Pokémon suddenly interrupted him, wanting to be groomed.

" **You can't blame us."** Wormadam shrugged. **"Girls like us like to keep ourselves clean and pretty."**

" **That's right."** Raichu agreed. **"Pakura sure grooms her Pokémon well. She even buys the best grooming products for her Pokémon."**

"Well, your owner isn't a girl, and he certainly doesn't wear makeup!" Phillip muttered. "Besides, didn't you know Pakura can't put makeup on herself to save her life?" Not that Pakura needed to put on makeup, because her natural beauty is surreal, but that is the reason why she doesn't put on her own makeup during prep time before an event.

Phillip frowned at the number of grooming items that Pakura had in the cosmetic case. He knew that this cosmetic case contained grooming products specifically for Pokémon, as Pakura would only buy grooming products for her Pokémon, never for herself. In fact, Phillip was ready to bet she never used any of the makeup that was provided in her room.

'Are you kidding me?' He thought, when he saw things such as conditioner, lotion, hairspray, lipstick, nail polish, various compact blushes, powder puff and even perfume among other grooming items. Did it mean that their region somehow invented these products specifically for Pokémon?

'Oh well, I'll ask her later.' Phillip thought, as he saw a range of combs and brushes Pakura used to brush her Pokémon's fur. He picked out a snazzy comb with wide teeth that was shaped like a half moon, and beckoned to Pachirisu, who hopped to his lap. Phillip proceeded to remove the tangles Pachirisu may have on her fur, starting from her head.

Phillip heard Jude's voice in the television, and realized they were showing the replay of the first Battle Rounds of the Pokémon Contest they are hosting, which was opened with the exhibition match between Leader Fantina and their own Elite Leader Pakura.

" **Wow! I may have known about Pakura's Contest prowess, but this is still amazing!"** Pachirisu admired. She had stopped participating in Contests ever since she joined up with Phillip's team, as Phillip was no Coordinator. **"She can definitely defeat Johanna in a Contest Battle!"**

"Who's that?" Phillip asked.

" **Dawn's mother. I wonder how she is reacting to Dawn's...performance in her Appeal."** Pachirisu sniggered.

"She won't be pleased for one. Secondly, she did take Pakura's dress after all. Assuming she knew what dress Dawn is going to wear, it's most likely she would ask about the last minute change of the dress, and who did her hair." Phillip replied, just as Rosaline stepped into their quarters, humming some song.

"How was your date?" Phillip asked, sparing a glance at her before turning his attention back to the television.

"We had dinner at his floor, you know. He made the others eat outside, and he took over the kitchen tonight. His dishes are really exquisite, he may be better than the cooks we hire in this Tower." Rosaline said.

"Is he participating in the cooking contest our region is going to host tomorrow?" Phillip asked.

"Naturally." Rosaline replied. "I took him to my personal gallery, you know, and let him see all my works that I had done. He told me it was definitely a work of art, and asked me if I can paint a painting that screams tragedy."

"You don't strike me as the type to paint that." Phillip said, not even looking at her.

"I didn't have any inspiration." Rosaline sighed. "I thought after all I experienced as a member of the PAL Elite, I would be able to, but…."

"Experienced what?" Phillip said sharply. "A real life tragedy? You had a normal childhood, and you never made a single kill until you took that Hunter Exam. Also, you had the naïve thought that all you needed was to win the Trainer's Tournament in order to apply to be an Elite member."

Rosaline stayed silent.

"I am not saying you are not talented, you are, but I don't know why you chose this region, because the idea that you have back then applies to the Elite Four member in other regions, not ours. Neither do I know why Pakura didn't kill you right then and there when you begged for another chance despite failing two tests."

Just then, the elevator deposited the other three members, who heard what Phillip had said.

"Phillip is right. I know you appeal to the PAL locals by being likable, and having that cute charm, and being positive and all, but really, Rosaline, sometimes, you just can't understand that cheerfulness and positivity are not always what a person with a dark psychology needs." Jude said. "I know, because I have been though a dark time where I thought everything was lost to me."

"Lay off her." Pakura said, and everyone looked up in surprise. "She brought some light to our team, and she is serious in her position, and does her work well, since she does have two stars in her Hunter field. She makes a fine PAL Elite member, as she does have other talents they can interview her about, but all she lacks is the knowledge of the fact that sometimes too much light can be blinding. Besides, we can count on her to spin us into something wonderful, she does sugar-coat our good points."

"Yeah, she does think the best of everyone. We can't blame her of not knowing how we feel, as she never experienced them herself, and while she is psychic, she doesn't have the ability to sense emotions like the Dragon Princess did." Ash added. At everyone's "How did you know?" look, Ash elaborated, "According to the file I got from William, the Dragon Princess was well known for that ability."

Rosaline nodded, as she knew she still had a long way to go to get their full acknowledgement of her being a member of the PAL Elite, despite her being named an official member a year before Ash became the League Champion, and it seemed they had accepted Ash quicker due to the fact that he was able to empathize with them.

"Don't worry, you'll understand one day." Jude said reassuringly.

'But what did Pakura go thorough to be able to claim herself to have gone through a dark time?' Rosaline thought, knowing Pakura's life before she became a PAL Elite member was unknown.

"So, are you using Pakura's products to groom your Pokémon?" Jude asked, looking at her cosmetic case on the floor.

Phillip looked sheepish, as he rubbed the back of his head.

Pakura shook her head in exasperation, but said, "Well, whoever wants to be groomed line up please."

Ash had to stifle a laugh at the long line that was in front of Pakura.

* * *

The Dragon Princess clasped the flask of tea she had made even though the warmth from the tea has long since leached into the cold air that was radiating from the hidden compartment located at the left side of her cave.

" **Are you going to strike at them?"** Gothitelle asked.

"No, not yet." The Dragon Princess replied. "I need to think of a good way to strike down that Psychic Elite, because she would be the first one I would target. I cannot just go in and physically attack her, because we all know she is a far range combatant. The better way would be to beat her at her own game."

" **Psychic power."** Chimecho echoed.

"That's right." The Dragon Princess nodded. "Also, she would think she has the advantage as she controls the element of fire, while I control ice. What she doesn't know is that my ice can resist heat. That would also cause another psychological blow. I need to find a good time to strike her, and when she would be alone. She apparently found a new male companion in the form of that Kalos Elite member Siebold."

" **Are you targeting her because she is the weakest?"** Espeon asked.

"No, I am targeting her first because she needs to be taught a lesson. I don't know where she got the idea that she is competent and fit to be a PAL Elite member at that time. Now she has it all: respect, power, and most importantly, the love of her family and a potential romantic relationship. She certainly doesn't deserve my respect, she's like 'Oh, I am a normal girl with a normal childhood, but I am born with psychic powers, so I think I am fit to be a PAL Elite member, and since I failed two tests, I am going to be stubborn and make those PAL Elites give in to my demand of another chance to become a PAL Elite member until I can get in.'" The Dragon Princess was spitting mad. How dare this girl just waltz in and ruin the image she and the Dragon Prince created of the PAL Elite Four?

" **If this is revealed to the public, her popularity would fall. To an extent, the other Elite members' popularity may fall as well, because everyone would see them as favouring their applicants."** Latios muttered.

"Wait….that's it!" The Dragon Princess snapped her fingers. "Change of plans, it looks like I'll strike sooner than later. After that, I'll bide my time and wait for the right time to get my revenge on Rosaline."

" **You don't mean…."** Dragalge said.

"Yes, I mean it." The Dragon Princess replied, and rummaged one of the boxes for evidence. "Makoto won't publish anything unless it's the truth, but if I send evidence in, along with the fact that I'll pour in some Mind Control, he will be forced to publish the article."

She wrote a letter, and wrapped the evidence in a package, making sure to write the address of the company and the name of the recipient, before disguising herself, and making her way towards a telephone booth. The Dragon Princess dialed a number, and waited.

"Hello, Pierce International Postal Service." A female voice said. "How may we help you?"

"Hello, can I have a postman, preferably Tenma, to come down to Luonto City to post a package for the PAL Times publishing company?"

"Sure, where are you now?" The voice replied.

"I'm currently at the telephone booth located somewhere near the Plaza Hotel. I'm in a hurry now, so I would leave the money below the package. Tell the postman to keep the change as a tip."

"Ok, I'll inform him." The woman said.

"Thank you." With that, the Dragon Princess hung up.

"Let's see how she gets out of that mess." The Dragon Princess smirked.

 **BP: Ok, let me explain a few things.**

 **The other PAL Elite members doesn't hate Rosaline, they were simply annoyed at the fact that she was extremely positive for her own good. I'm not here to make any characters look bad, especially Rosaline. In fact, I did like this character that mysterypink98 made for me for my stories, and I thank her for it.**

 **Since Rosaline was in isolation in her home for her childhood painting and drawing what she has in her mind (She was bullied for her uncontrollable psychic powers, but however, the love of her family covers it, and with her family's encouragement, she managed to control them. Suffice to say, she has the most loving family among the five of them, not counting Ash), it was the only world she knew for most of her life until she went on her Pokémon journey. Despite this, however, she had a very fantastical view of the world and was extremely naïve (which is probably why she writes fantasy novels and Magical Girls manga).**

 **That is also why she thought all she needed was to win the Trainer's Tournament to apply to be an Elite member in the PAL Region, not knowing about the Hunter requirement (it is unknown how she overlooked this fact, as it was emphasised).**

 **Rosaline also never killed before she took the Hunter Exam (and that was after Pakura reluctantly gave her the chance), unlike the other three Elites. Rosaline is the only one that didn't boost her potential by going through a bad time, albeit she is the weakest in the team. The PAL Elite knew she could do better than that, which may be one of the reasons why Pakura decided to give her a chance to prove herself.**

 **She is important in the sense that someone needs to bring some light to the PAL Elite members, which have a dark nature about them, including the sociable Jude, who is friendly with everyone. I am sure the PAL Elites would like her better if she understood how they really felt, as the fact that her life never made a dark turn (not counting when she became a PAL Elite) mean that she did not understand what her teammates been through, which was why she has a soft nature, and is optimistic all the time, which was what her teammates didn't need at some points in time.**

 **As for her team roster, I had to remove one Legendary, because of the team she sent me contained five, which is more than Jude or Phillip. Being the weakest, it would make no sense (at least not to me) that she had more Legendaries than her stronger teammates. While she did say to give more to Jude and Phillip so she can have her five Legendaries (she wanted Hoopa to herself), but I realized due to the type specialty, Phillip doesn't have much to work with, hence my decision to remove one from her to make it fair.**

 **After careful consideration, I removed Hoopa from her list, and added Hoopa to Jude's list. Mysterypink98, please forgive me, because I wanted, but wasn't able to consult you for my decision and hence I had to decide for myself.**

 **Anyway, I am sorry if this chapter was badly written or it was too much focus on Pakura, because she plays a major role in this story and this arc. Without her, let's just say there is no story.**

 **Usuki Doll Sets is inspired by the Usuki dolls from Neopets. I played Neopets when I was young, and now I am back at that website. I love those Doll Sets which is why I chose an Usul as my Neopet (I adopted three more while playing)**

 **Ok, I haven't talked to mysterpink98, and when I emailed her, she didn't reply. I hope she isn't avoiding me that would suck a lot considering I already lost a friend back in 2013. Mysterypink98, if you are reading this, I am still supporting you in your JC times, and hope you can message me sometime when you are free. I will be waiting for you, and don't blame me if I write something without consulting you and you go and send me scary pics for that. *whistle* Haha, I'm joking, but really, I hope I can consult you again on what would earn me a scary picture if I write it.**

 **So basically, I am alone in this Fanfiction Project.**

 **Anyway….There are a few story ideas that I might go through with once I finish PAL Chronicles and Dark Chronicles. Please take a look at them:**

 **Title of the story: Untitled as of now**

 **Summary:** **The last thing Ash and his Elites remember was being in a mission investigating a device that was smuggled in their region that apparently allows one to manifest and use abilities despite the fact that they don't have any aura, and being attacked by an army of people using the said device. So why did they wake up in another world, specifically in a world where they are apparently Defense Attorneys/Prosecutors/Detectives?**

 **Much to their distress, their Pokémon have turned into Plushies and their Key Stones are now useless. Not only that, they are separated from their team members, and their CommuniDexes are replaced with a high-tech watch, which meant they have no way of contacting one another. And why do those strange people living in that world claim to know them, some even saying they knew them for years? The five of them have to live their "lives" as they stand the courtroom for various cases, while hiding their powers from these ordinary people, and find their way home. (X-over with Ace Attorney)**

 **Questions:**

 **1\. Can you tell me which of the PAL Elites should be Defense Attorney, Prosecutors, and Detectives? (E.g: If you think Rosaline should be a Detective, just say "Rosaline should be a detective in this AA world"). Please ignore what Phillip said in this chapter, because I'm asking your opinions.**

 **2\. Should the Elite Leader be known as Pakura Ameyuri or Amethyst Paradinight (her name in PAL Academy)?**

 **3\. Should we have pairings with AA characters?** **If yes, what pairing do you hope to see?  
(And no, I am not going to do RoyalShipping, that is for PAL Academy. Yes, I originally wanted Ash with someone else, but due to the overwhelming requests, I decided to do RoyalShipping for PAL Academy. And yes, it will work out.)**

 **4\. Any suggestions for the title of this story?**

 **Note: The PAL Elites in this future fic will be single and at least in their late twenties in order to match the AA timeline.**

 **Title of the story: Pokémon: Heartsong Symphony**

 **Summary: After finishing his travels with Kalos, Ash decided to travel to the PAL Region as recommended by Professor Oak. He had heard that the Pokémon League there was somewhat different from the regions he had travelled so far. When he reached there, he gains a travelling companion, who seemed to take an interest in him, and he/she may be keeping some secrets from him too. Whatever it is, Ash is in for a thrilling adventure with his new companion, and his companion would understand why Ash is the Chosen One.**

 **Question:**

 **In this fic, Ash will travel with one of the PAL Elite Four members (Would not be known to Ash until he takes the Elite challenge). Who do you vote as Ash's travelling companion? Note: Because the travelling companion is an Elite Four instead of a Gym Leader, I make up for it by putting one less travelling companion for him.**

 **I hope to get some answers so I can get started on these stories as soon as I am done with the two stories, as I am without mysterypink98's help until she is free, and contacts me when she is. I respect her space, so I won't contact her while I know she's busy.**

 **Oh yeah, in my Deviantart Journal, I will be answering questions the fans may have for my PAL Series stories. It is supposed to be mysterypink98 who does this, but since she started college, it looks like I have to do it now.**

 **You can even request I discuss a topic related to my fanfiction project (E.g: You can ask me to write about how I came up with the characters in my story and stuff like that.) Please put your requests in form of PM, reviews in my story, or comment on my first Deviantart Journal Post. I hope you check my Deviantart account, and please comment on the pictures I made. My username is cutethings97. I would also post Journals on what story ideas I have for the PAL Series, besides using it to answer questions.**

 **Now don't ask why I didn't draw my characters out, it's because I cannot draw, and neither do I have someone to help me design the characters themselves, and I cannot afford a commission, because that involves real money.**

 **Do check out my PAL Series Wikia and help create pages and edit them (I can't do this alone, really)! I have cleaned up the pages containing information on the PAL Elites, so do check out their backgrounds and tell me what you think! The links to my PAL Series Wikia and the PAL Deviantart page are all in my profile (remove the spaces though)**

 **Any do review, favourite and follow this story, and give as many suggestions as possible!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **The Unlikeliest Second Chance at Life would be published soon, so please look forward to it!**


	7. Scandals of the Fiery Phoenix

**BP: Thank you for the favourite, follows and reviews so far! I was disappointed the PAL Chronicles hasn't been receiving a lot of reviews lately. Oh well, maybe next chapter of that story would receive even more. Anyway, mysterypink98 hasn't contacted me lately, and I am starting to wonder if it's something I had said or done. But the last thing I said to her on the 27 Jan was "Message me on Sunday, ok?" Meaning the Sunday after 27 Jan, but nothing came out, and I could no longer see her profile or her status or even her last seen in her Whatsapp a few days later.**

 **I don't know what happened, but something about this worries me…a lot. Uncertainty of whether we are still best friends has settled in, and I wonder if she had forgotten me already. She once told me best friends don't have expiry dates, but I feel like I have expired. However, the story has to go on, and I'll try to update for my readers. I cannot just discontinue this now I have gone this far.**

 **So, my poly friends found out about it, and they thought she ditched me for her new friends or something. I wonder what business is this matter of theirs. Their words did give me some doubt, though. Perhaps I'll hold out hope until the March Holidays which start on the 11** **th** **of March…she'd be free then….right?**

 **Anyway, remember I still have two story ideas? Since mysterypink98 can't help me now, I hope I can get help from my readers, so that this Fanfiction Project can go on.**

 **The article on Rosaline was proofread by Four4Two, as I needed to let the article sound objective rather than being biased against her. Thanks again to him.**

 **Check out my Deviantart if you haven't! I had posted Jude's VS Screen for my readers to view. Do tell me what you think of it.**

Ash brought his Egg to the rooftop, thinking the Egg might like some fresh air of its own. At night, the view of the city is spectacular, as the building lights twinkled like a vast amount of Volbeat and Illumise. With the bright lights, one could see to the garden below. Ash noticed a silhouette, black against the lights that shone endlessly in their region. The person seemed to sense Ash, and she turned, and beckoned him to come closer.

"You really should be getting some rest." Pakura said, as they watched some couples taking a walk, and probably whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears.

"I figured I take my Egg out for some fresh air. The night air's sweet, isn't it?" Ash replied.

Pakura nodded. "It's also a good place to reflect on things."

"Yeah." Ash agreed, and fell silent.

After a long silence, Pakura broke it. "Thinking about what? Your mother?"

Ash shook his head. "More like how all of us have one thing in common. We have something dark happen to us that allowed us to become experienced killers without even thinking…except Rosaline, of course. Why did you let her in anyway? I know you normally won't let someone like her in."

'Of course, I didn't actually tell him what happened when Rosaline applied.' Pakura thought. 'Knowing his current personality, he'd flip if he finds out just what happened.'

"I'm not doubting your choice, Paku." Ash said. "But Rosaline….she only kills when she is forced to. I have looked over the missions that she had completed, and she only kills when William specifically said kill. Other than that, even if they escaped, she try to chase and capture them alive."

"What?" Pakura was somewhat shocked and livid. 'What is Rosaline thinking? When she was inducted into the Elite, she swore she would kill if something goes wrong! And targets escaping is categorized under 'Something Wrong''. "How did you know?"

"I read her case files." Ash answered. "I sometimes get bored and read old stuff you know, for amusement."

'You really took after me for that one.' Pakura thought.

"I think Rosaline thinks you're mad at her because she joined the Elite." Ash remarked.

"I'm not mad at her. I'm worried about her. I think she is unaware how much of a double-edged sword being a member of this region's Pokémon League is, and only comes here for the prestige it would give her. She's going to have a total meltdown if she finds out, because unlike us, she won't be used to it. She's raised in a loving family, and her bullies are nothing compared to what Phillip went through. And who's going to have to take care of her? Me." Pakura sighed in exasperation.

"So why even let her in?" Ash asked.

"It's complicated to explain. The thing is, is that it should be one of the members of the Dragon Duo. At least they are much more competent in the Psychic part than Rosaline, and they are not born with Psychic powers. Not only that, their Dragon Mastery is undefeated, and they even had this region under their leadership, but they went missing." Pakura explained. "Then again, they fight as a duo, so maybe they would both be in the Elite Four, making it an Elite Five or something, but when they reach the Dragon Duo, it'd be a Double Battle."

Ash nodded, as Pakura had a point there. "Do you know why I ask? Because they would be the ones to take over us should something happen to us. Not that anything would happen, but the running of the region is the most important. And I don't think Rosaline is cut out for this. She's too soft, for one. Although she has been an Elite for a year longer than I became Champion, I don't think she knows what it actually means to become a part of this region's Elite."

"I agree, actually." Pakura replied, just as Ash's Egg glowed, signalling it was going to hatch.

"Hey, my Egg's going to hatch soon!" Ash looked at the grey Egg, somewhat excited. "I wonder what it is going to hatch into." Then, he stifled a yawn under his hand.

"Go to bed." said an undeceived Pakura. "Maybe it'll hatch tomorrow or something."

"Well, see you tomorrow." Ash replied, as he left the rooftop.

Ash burrowed down under his covers, not even bothering to change into his nightclothes, and drifted off into dreamland.

 _Ash found himself in a place he recognized as the Dragon Shrine. Looking around, it looked like he was alone. There were ten adults who were performing some ritual involving something in a treasure chest, when a voice, seemingly outside, said, "Latias, Dragon Pulse." The door burst open, revealing a silhouette, who entered the Dragon Shrine, a Latias following her. Ash noted that the Latias was wearing a Mega Stone._

" _How dare you intrude on…?" A woman started, before she trailed off. "Do we know you?"_

 _"Do you know me?" the voice mimicked the woman mockingly. "Maybe, maybe not. Should I even answer that?"_

 _"You're intruding into Blackthorn City's sacred territory!" A man said, standing up as he readied his Pokéball. "Leave quietly, or we'll use force."_

" _I am here for something that rightfully belongs to PAL Region's Drákói City, which was stolen by your so-called_ _famous Dragon Clan members." The girl said coldly._

" _What thing?" Another man sneered. "That item is ours, and it always has been! It's been in our Dragon Clan for generations!"_

" _Yeah." Another woman backed the man. "And where did you get that Latias?" She demanded, wanting to catch one for herself. "Especially one that can Mega Evolve?"_

" _Not telling." The girl sounded bored._

" _Well then, we'll just take that Latias from you by force, since a brat like you doesn't deserve owning her." Another man said greedily. "And maybe take your Key Stone as well."_

" _Not only are you filthy scum that ruins innocent people's lives for your own reputation, you are also big, fat liars and greedy pigs!" The girl spat. "Anyway, too bad you all won't last long._ _You're the last ones after all." The girl took out another Pokéball, and revealed a Latios (wearing a Mega Stone as well), which served to fuel their greed._

 _The adults themselves summoned their Dragon Pokémon, and commanded them to get the girl and her Pokémon._

 _"Latias, Latios, if you please." The girl said in a bored tone._

 _The Eon Duo easily beaten the adults Dragon Pokémon to a pulp. While the adults were staring in shock at their Pokémon, the silhouette took out a laser gun, and aimed the lasers at their chests. Three of them managed to avoid them in time._

 _"We need to contact Lance and Clair. They are the only ones who can-" The first one was cut off when his throat was slit by the girl with what seemed to be an icicle that covered her hand- an ice sword._

 _The second one gasped, but took out her Pokégear, but the girl froze the Pokégear and shattered it. The third one crawled under the table, cowering under the girl's frightening actions._

" _Latias, Latios, use Psychic." The girl commanded, and the remaining two alive members lifted into the air. The girl walked up to the two of them, and made sure they looked into her eyes, which was hidden by her fringe._

 _"It's too bad it didn't occur to you I was born with the gift. The gift to improve in Dragon training with every battle I get into. Surely you know that every generation, one member of the Dragon Clan is born with this gift?" The girl asked, sneering._

 _One of the members, who was a woman, nodded in fear._

 _The second one gasped. "Don't tell me…"_

 _The girl grinned. "Yes, in this generation, I got the gift, along with the enhanced intelligence that came with it. Lance and Clair won't be able to hold a candle to me."_

 _The woman groaned. "So no wonder their generation didn't seem to have anyone with that gift, because you already had it."_

 _"Yes, you get it!" The girl said in a falsely cheerful tone. "Now, I hope you rot in the Distortion World, for ruining so many people's lives to keep your reputation as the pure Dragon Clan. But in reality, your blood is the filthiest of the filth." With that, she ripped the woman's heart out with her own hand, and crushed the still beating heart, leaving the woman quivering and twitching on the ground when Latias released her Psychic. The other struggled against Latios' Psychic, and the girl proceeded to decapitate him._

" _Good job, Latias, Latios." The girl praised, and they grunted in happiness at the praise, as she returned them._

 _The girl proceeded to take the treasure box and their Pokéballs, and escaped towards the edge of Blackthorn City._

 _"Let's see what I can do with my new powers." an aura surrounded her, and when she spread her arms, it started snowing all over Blackthorn, and the snow got harsher and harsher, until it became a blizzard with strong winds blowing. No one can hope to go out in this weather._

 _"For what they have done, they will suffer for eternity." The girl muttered, before teleporting away._

Ash opened his eyes, and panted. He dimly realized that there was a warm furball on his chest. He rubbed his eyes to see a small, bipedal, feline Pokémon. Its fur is mussed and a pale grey color with the exception of its ears, which are cream-rimmed and its paws, which have short cream socks. It also has a small, fluffy, slightly curled tail. When the furball opened its eyes, it was revealed to have wide, annular lilac eyes with darker purple pupils.

" **Daddy!"** The Espurr said cutely. Judging by the voice, Ash knew this Espurr was female.

"How did you get out of the Egg case?" Ash asked.

" **Psychic!"** Espurr said happily, and nuzzled her head against Ash's chest. **"What shall we do today?"**

"Espurr." Ash said exasperatedly. "It's only…" He checked the alarm clock next to him. "4:17a.m. But ok, we'll go outside and spend some time, but let me sleep after that."

Espurr nodded, as Ash brought her outside, only to also see Pakura there, reading. Pakura seemed to sense him, and turned, only for her attention to be directed to Espurr.

"Is that what was in your Egg?" Pakura asked, and Ash nodded.

"It hatched in the middle of the night while I was asleep." Ash replied, sitting on the couch, and getting a Pokénip Critter, which was something like a catnip, only for Pokémon. Espurr was busy batting away at the said toy, while Ash talked to Pakura about his dream.

"I think the one who killed the Dragon Clan is the Dragon Princess." Ash said. "It's the only logical explanation. The girl came for something that belonged to Drákói City, and the people living there told me that their Dragon Blade was stolen before it was returned to them by the Dragon Princess." Ash was discussing his theory.

"I think you might be correct, Ash." Pakura replied. "But you said that the Dragon Princess thought they ruined innocent lives. Maybe she was a victim of those people before, and grew up to become bitter and vengeful towards them." Pakura replied.

"The thing is, it looks like the Dragon Prince wasn't with her." Ash said. "I think he went missing even before she killed Blackthorn's Dragon Clan."

"But the question is, why did he even disappear?" Pakura asked, watching the Espurr like she was some mildly interesting television programme.

"That's the question of the day, isn't it?" Ash gave a wry smile.

"Well, since we won our tag matches, we have a break tomorrow. Maybe you can find out more then." Pakura suggested.

Ash nodded, as he noticed Espurr had gotten the Pokénip and was now gnawing on it. He hastily took it away from Espurr. "Too true. Well, goodnight Paku."

"'Night, Ash."

* * *

Ash woke up from his dreamless sleep, and brushed his teeth along with taking a hot shower. He decided to dress in a casual black shirt that had a picture of a DJ with headphones on and looked like he was rocking to some music beat, judging by the position of his hands on the large CDs and a pair of jeans.

When Ash came down to breakfast, only Pakura and her Pokémon was there, but this time, she was reading the morning newspaper (and it looked like she was sipping a cup of tea), while her Pokémon were eating in peace. He took an empty plate, and filled it with sausages, eggs, potatoes, bread. He poured himself a cup of hot chocolate for drinks.

Ash heard a spitting sound, and looked up to see Pakura taking a napkin and wiping the tea she had spit all over the table. Pikachu, looking curious, went over to her, and see what she was reading.

" **Holy shit!"** Pikachu yelped. That was enough for Ash to get up from the table, and walk over to her.

"Paku, hand over that newspaper." Ash said, holding his hand out.

"Ash, there's nothing interesting in the paper." Pakura shook her head, but placed the paper behind her hands.

"We'll see." Ash said, and he used telekinesis to get the paper away from Pakura, and into his hands. The article featured Rosaline

 **THE ELITE WHO IS SIMPLY AFTER THE PRESTIGE**

 _Pakura Ameyuri, the Leader of the PAL Elite and PAL's current Princess, was responsible of evaluating and accessing the applicants who wanted the vacant place within the Elite and decide whether they were worthy for the status and title as a PAL Elite. One of the requirements that everyone knew they should have was that the applicant should be a professional Hunter, along with the fact that they should win a Trainer's Tournament. Along with these requirements, an applicant could only apply once._

 _This means that the applicants only had one opportunity to prove themselves worthy. However, once the person was rejected by the current members, they are not allowed to apply again. Three years ago, all the Elite spots were filled up, with Rosaline Pyra taking the last spot for herself._

 _Rosaline Pyra is famous for being a best-selling fantasy author and manga writer, as well as being a famous artist. In addition, she has enjoyed her position as a Fire/Psychic Elite member, which secured her a hefty income, fame and most importantly, authority over a majority of the region. To put that into perspective, the ones with the most power over the PAL region are the Elite Four members and the Champion._

 _However, recent evidence has come to light that at the time when Rosaline applied for the position as a PAL Elite, she broke some of those requirements mentioned. In reality, she lost to Jude Harrison, who was designated as the first member of the PAL Elite Four at that time. Instead of leaving peacefully knowing full well of the standards that were being upheld, she stubbornly stood her ground and had the gall to ask for another chance to prove herself. This caused Pakura Ameyuri, who had (and still has) a type disadvantage against Rosaline's chosen Fire-type, challenged her to a battle to see whether she was worthy or not. Rosaline was confident that she would win but she lost again despite the type advantage she had against the silent and deadly Elite. In other words, Rosaline had failed two tests._

 _Instead of accepting her defeat, she used her strange and mysterious influence over the PAL Leader to secure that elusive and final spot within the PAL Elite even though there were much better-qualified candidates for the position. What happened was something that no one would expect from a proud PAL Elite candidate or even a decent person. Apparently, according to evidence, Rosaline was seen and heard begging the three PAL Elites for a third chance and still persisted that she would still apply even if they outright rejected her._

 _It was by sheer luck (and coincidence) that the three Elites agreed to give Rosaline her third chance. The coincidence? Her psychic power, granted the three Elites agreed that it was considerably weaker than the Dragon Duo's. Rosaline's response to this was even if her power was weaker and greatly inferior to the Dragon Duo, she was still an asset of sorts and that she would not give up that elusive last spot._

 _Speculation has arisen saying that Rosaline used her psychic powers to compel the three into agreeing into giving her that third chance. In addition to this, the PAL Times has now unearthed shocking evidence that could change (or will change) her public image: at the time of her application, Rosaline wasn't even a full-fledged Hunter, little less a Hunter at all. Furthermore, she hadn't read the Terms & Conditions properly and had thought all she needed was to win the Trainer's Tournament and choose dual-type specialities in order to be able to qualify to become a PAL Elite member. _

_Phillip Robinson, apparently exasperated by Rosaline's begging, then revealed that she needed to be a Hunter in order to be able to even apply for the spot, and that she had to be thankful they even bothered seeing her. Instead of backing off, however, Rosaline had said that she did not care about the requirements, and that she is still going to apply for that position, stating that she had potential, only she hadn't hit her maximum point yet._

 _This lead to Pakura saying that she was going to reject her application, quote-on-quote: right here, right now. Theoretically Rosaline didn't have a chance to become part of their Elite once Pakura says this. She replied to this by saying, "I don't care I'm still going to re-apply even if you reject me!" It is very apparent that Rosaline holds herself above these restrictions._

 _It is alleged that she only applied for the spot for prestige purposes as well as the fact that Rosaline wasn't aware of the Hunter requirement, although this is well-known to people who have travelled to our region._

 _Rumours had been flying around saying that Rosaline was simply drawn to the PAL Region itself and only wanted to become one of the Elite when she saw Jude and Phillip battling in an exhibition match in one of the earlier Trainer's Tournaments. This means she was only after the fame, fortune and glory that came along with the significant authority over the PAL Region. It is also likely that Rosaline had ignored the Hunter requirement, and had decided that the spot was hers the moment she found out about it._

" _Rosaline was a child when it came to how our region worked." Pakura Ameyuri had once stated at a private press conference and to which the writers agreed. Rosaline displayed herself as a spoilt child when she asked for those other chances thinking selfishly that she deserved such a prestigious and righteous position, although she had never met the other three Elite prior to the application period._

 _Evidence that was one lost and now found uncovered more atrocious and undesirable behaviour of Rosaline's rise to the Elite position. This came in the form of constant pestering and annoyances for the third chance, this was given when Pakura Ameyuri surprisingly snapped and agreed. Why Pakura didn't throw her out was unknown, though it is speculated that Rosaline used (once more) her psychic powers on them to make sure they listen to her request for the third chance, when she had wasted the other two previously. While she isn't a strong a psychic as the Dragon Duo, who are currently missing, the other three Elites do not have such powers, making them susceptible to the influence of a psychic as such as Rosaline._

 _"She's not exactly powerful," admits one of the participants who lost to her in the 55th Trainer's Tournament, "but she'd be well-up to using psychic powers on those Elites to give her another chance, she was born with psychic powers. I think that's how she's doing it."_

 _There is no doubt that Red Satoshi, current Champion of the PAL Region, will investigate these claims. In the meantime, the PAL Elite Four fans and supporters must hope that next time, they give the position of PAL Elite to someone with a fair mind, strength and most of all the acknowledgement of all the Elites and the Champion that he or she is worthy._

"Is this true?" Ash asked, holding the article to her. "Did Rosaline really…?"

Pakura nodded. "Yes. It's the truth, although I am sure she doesn't have any Mind Control ability of the sort, that's just a speculation."

Ash turned the TV on, which no doubt, they would have a video on what happened when Rosaline applied. Ash stared stonily as Rosaline was revealed to depend on her Gardevoir because of the type advantage when she was up against Jude. She asked for another chance, and they agreed, and Pakura decided to fight her herself since she had the disadvantage for both her type specialties. Rosaline lost again, and sure enough, the article described the video accurately, with Rosaline begging for a third chance to prove herself, as if the spot was supposed to be hers. It was almost as if she thought she was the best shot they got.

Ash almost hated her defiance for the other three, and also understood that anyone would interpret her as thinking she was above their restrictions with the way she behaved in the video. He had half a mind to kick her out of the Elite at that moment.

"So she only became a Hunter in order to get this spot." Ash clenched his fists, rounding on Pakura. "Why didn't you throw her out?"

"Please, I wonder that myself, you have no idea how much I regret that." Pakura replied. "There are many instances I wish I killed her right then and there. Why else do you think we didn't have a public celebration like the others when she was named an official Elite member?"

"It looks like she needs to prove she's really worthy of the spot." Ash said. "With this article all around PAL, they'll have a petition for her to step down."

"Didn't she win the Champion's Tournament?" Pakura asked.

"Yes, but she commanded without speaking." Ash snapped, just as the doors opened and the other three came out for breakfast. "It's unfair as all of them said their commands out loud, and it's only three-on-three."

"Yeah. What was I thinking back then?" Pakura muttered. "Her popularity would take the hardest blow, it's true, but ours would drop as well, because we were the ones who bent the rules!"

"Hey, what are you two doing, standing there talking?" Phillip asked, as he came over to them, and looked at the article. His stiffened when he read the article's contents, and said grimly, "You two need to see this."

Jude and Rosaline came over, curious as to why Phillip sounded forbidding, and went over to the trio. He snatched the article from Ash, and read the article, his lips moving to the words he was reading, and scowl deepening as he read down the lines. He hesitated when Rosaline asked for him to hand over the article.

"Just do it, Jude." Pakura ordered. "She has a right to know."

When Rosaline read the article, her eyes became teary, until she was actually crying.

"What's going to happen to me?" Rosaline cried, waving the article.

"They'll most likely call for you to step down, because they see you as some spoilt girl that thinks that the last Elite spot belongs to you. They would also feel you don't qualify to be one of us because when you applied, you weren't even a Hunter." Jude said, lips pursed.

"But I am a Hunter now!" Rosaline protested.

"Yes, you are, but you only took the Hunter Exam because you found out about the Hunter requirement. You should actually take the Hunter Exam before you even try for the spot." Pakura sighed. "If we didn't say anything, would you have taken it out of your own choice?"

Rosaline stayed silent, as she wiped the tears off her face. It was useless, as her eyes were leaking out more tears.

"Everyone now knows you failed two tests, but yet you still stubbornly asked for more chances. The readers would know that you applied with the thought that all you needed was to win the Trainer's Tournament, and think you don't deserve what you have now." Phillip shook his head.

"But didn't the fact that she won the Champion's Tournament prove herself to them?" Jude pointed out.

"Unfortunately, as I told Paku earlier, she did not say her commands out loud, like the other seven participants, and it was only a three-on-three." Ash pointed out.

"How did they find out anyway?" Phillip asked.

"Apparently, a footage of Rosaline's Elite challenge was leaked to the press." Ash replied. "I can safely say whoever did this…is out to get her." At this point, Rosaline flung a hand to her face, and rushed for her room not even bothering for breakfast, her Pokémon going after her, calling her name.

"Rosaline….is the most innocuous person among all of us." Phillip said. "It's really heart-breaking to see she, of all people have to suffer this humiliation."

'Heart-breaking my foot.' Ash thought. 'She deserved it for her actions if you ask me. She was reckless and ignorant applying for the spot shortly after winning the tournament. I certainly don't need people like her in our team. She'll just bring us down.'

"Also, it brings to light the harsh reality of being a PAL Elite." Pakura said. "The locals have very high expectations of us, as we have to lead a region as well. I was right in saying she is just a child. How our region works is bound to crush her someday…I never thought it would be like this."

"The reporters would be investigating her past missions as well as per readers' request. It'll not help her case when they find out Rosaline keeps her targets alive and only kills when she is told to." Ash sighed. "The PAL locals know that if something happens to either Paku or I, one of you would have to take over immediately. They won't accept Rosaline as a replacement should something happen to Paku." Not that he would accept her as a replacement either, but as an Elite Four, she would be slated to be the next one.

"Would they ask her to be kicked out of the tournament?" Phillip asked.

"Doubt it. It'd be a pain to replace her at this stage." Ash answered.

"In that case, she has until the tournament to prove herself….otherwise, she'll have to give up her Elite position." Pakura said solemnly.

"Really, not that I care much whether she stays or not, but seriously, if she cannot stand the backlash, then she's a weakling, and we don't need people like her, do we?" Ash rolled his eyes.

The other three did not look happy at Ash's words, but they nodded resignedly, knowing they cannot help Rosaline now.

"I think we should get some breakfast." Phillip mumbled.

"I'll be in the kitchen." Pakura replied, heading to the kitchen, probably to cook or bake something.

* * *

When Ash got outside the Tower with Pikachu and Lucario, all the people who normally hang at the garden talking, sitting on the various benches provided, and secretly smoking (which would always get them a fine because the region believes that the second-hand smoke may ruin the environment the wild Pokémon are living in…or the lungs of the Pokémon, for the matter) were all clustered into groups looking at something.

'It's most likely the article on Rosaline.' Ash sighed, as he just walked right by on to show he wasn't going to have any part of the gossip. A bunch of people stared at him, but he ignored them.

"Hey, Red!" A voice called out. Ash turned to see Gary and Paul running towards him with the article on hand.

"We saw the article, and we thought we should check if you're ok." Gary said worriedly.

"I'm fine, alright." Ash said tonelessly. "But Rosaline certainly isn't. She's shut up in her room like Paku when she needs to do work or wishes to be alone."

"Is this article true?" Paul asked, waving the newspaper he was holding.

Ash nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. The other three knew about it, but covered it up for Rosaline's sake. However, somebody leaked it to the press."

"She's going to have to tough it out. It's going to happen eventually, with what you told me about the PAL Elites. You guys aren't ordinary Elites…or Champion in your case after all." Paul remarked. "There is bound to be a high price for the fame and the fortune that you receive being part of the Elite Four in this region, and this is only a part of it."

"Yeah, but I hoped it wouldn't be quite this soon, but it's probably just as well to get it over with." Ash shook his head. "Rosaline wasn't ready for this by the looks of it, but personally, I think she should have expected it."

"You didn't leak it, did you?" Paul frowned.

"Me?" Ash was offended. "I may know who Makoto is, but the only time I interacted with him was when I challenged him for part of the Water Symbol. Ever since, I hardly talked to him, and because of our differing occupations, we barely even saw each other! Besides, I didn't even know of this matter until this morning!"

"Sorry, just checking." Paul raised his hands in surrender.

"I don't think Red could have told, because the newspaper wrote about stuff that even he doesn't know. Like how the other three thought that Rosaline's psychic powers are weaker than the Dragon Duo's. You didn't know about that, did you?" Gary asked.

Ash shook his head. "No actually, I thought it was the public's opinion. I didn't think that the opinion originated from the three of them, and how true it was."

"You have to admit though, in the footage, Rosaline was really rude to the three of them, and arrogant too." Paul commented. "From an outsider's point of view, anyone would think Rosaline thought she is above their rules, and thought she is the best candidate, as she did tell them she has potential. As if the other candidates they had didn't have potential."

Ash nodded, as he knew Paul was right. "Yeah, but if you ask me, Paku's right about how one of the members should be from the Dragon Duo. After all, they are the best Dragon Masters in the PAL Region, and even more powerful psychics than Rosaline. Also, they did have experience running this region."

"Only they are missing." Gary finished.

"Yeah, if one of them shows up, it's most likely Rosaline would lose her spot before you can say 'Elite'." Paul added. "No offense to her, but she really needs to step up her game if she wants to keep that spot of hers."

"But knowing Rosaline, I'm sure she'll fight to keep her spot. But then again, we don't really need someone who only wants the position just for the prestige sake." Ash yawned in boredom. "Well, I'll just have to give Makoto a call to see who his source is. After all, it was one of his subordinates who wrote it, but Makoto would never approve of this being published unless he has derisive evidence."

"But the question is, how did the person who leaked the story get their hands on the incriminating evidence in the first place?" Gary asked.

"Maybe Makoto would know who sent the evidence." Ash answered, just as a woman approached them.

"Hello, Prince Red." the woman greeted.

"Hey, Mika." Ash replied. "What brings you here?"

"There's someone who would like to see you." Mika replied. Ash just knew it had to be something to do with the article published.

Ash nodded, and gave a reassuring smile to Paul and Gary, who were looking concerned. Paul even had his hands in his pockets, a sign he was trying to hide his fear. He made his way to the Hunter Association's Headquarters, and the receptionist, as if expecting him, escorted him to the elevator herself, and he followed her down the hallway, past the cubicles of the workspace of the other Hunters. The other Hunters, seeing him, started to whisper.

"Here's the place." The receptionist said, and Ash realized he was taken to William's office, and Ash knew this wasn't going to start well. Ash knocked three times, twisted the brass doorknob, and stepped inside. Jude, Phillip and Pakura were already inside, and none of them looked very relaxed, while their Pokémon were trying to soothe them. Pakura's Sylveon was especially eager to do so as she was seen with two of her feelers wrapped around her arm, and rubbing her head against her leg. William was sitting at the other side of the desk, apparently waiting for him.

"Sit down, Prince Red." William gestured to the carved, straight-backed cushioned chair next to Pakura, and Ash obeyed.

"I think we'll make this whole situation a lot simpler by agreeing not to lie to each other." William said. "What do you think?"

"It'll definitely save time." Phillip mumbled, and the rest agreed. Pakura simply nodded.

"We have a problem, Prince Red, Princess Pakura, and Elites Jude and Phillip." William said. "A problem that began the moment the article was published which revealed the truth to light."

The four of them stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

"If any one of the three of you have any sense, you should've just thrown her out in the least, because she has defied you three and the rules when applying to be an Elite Four member. But yet, you didn't and even gave her a third chance she was begging for. So here she is among you as a PAL Elite member." William directed this to the three Elite members, who looked at one another, regretting their decision.

"Of course, there was nothing we can do, and watch her as she reveals her talent for painting, and her secondary occupation as an author. She was pretty good too, as she even created a cheerful, never-give-up public image of herself for the audience, and the people in our region were convinced she made a good Elite member, because they thought she was already a Hunter when she applied. You even gave her the second spot, so we assumed she defeated Jude. Until now, that is." William went on. "Do you know what this means?"

"Rosaline would lose her position?" Ash asked tentatively.

"Not just that, Prince Red. You of all people should know that unique and dangerous are our region's middle names, hence the requirements. You all would also be at risk for losing your positions for letting that girl walk all over you guys like she is the Princess." William answered.

There was a knock at the door, and the receptionist steps in.

"I was wondering if you would like some tea, Chairman William." The receptionist offered.

"I would. I would like tea." William replied, as the door opens wider and the receptionist was revealed to be holding a tray with a china tea set. "Set it here, please." William patted the center of the table.

The receptionist set the tray on the desk. It held a china teapot and cups, cream and sugar, and a plate of cookies, which were beautifully iced with soft-coloured flowers.

"Thank you." William nodded, as the receptionist bowed, and left the office. William proceeded to pour tea for the four of them and himself, and filled his own cup with cream and sugar. They sensed he had said what he wanted to say, and is waiting for a response.

"We didn't mean to cause trouble for the region by letting her in." Phillip mumbled.

"I believe you." William said, as Pakura inwardly gulped. She had let the girl walk free when she showed an act of defiance. Surely, there would be repercussions, but would William go so far as to annul his secret agreement for Ash's immunity in this region? Had she stripped Ash of what little protection she could give him from those people out for his blood? "It doesn't matter. The damage has already been done, and we are already receiving mail, ordering us to kick her out of the Elite. Some also said that all of you had a poor judge of character when it came to choosing your members, and asked to put you up for evaluation on whether you should be kicked out or not."

"Why don't you grant their requests and kick us out too?" Jude blurted out.

"That is only a minority, and I am sure there would be a riot if we kick any of you out, because the audience has already been attached to you. Also, I do not want to look for new members, because you four have proved yourself competent, and you are already Hunters before you took up the Elite positions. Rosaline, however, is a different question altogether. She killed only because she had to and to keep herself alive to be able to have her Elite position for one more day, but as for you, you all were willing to sacrifice you lives for the region, killing because you had to get rid of the problems to help our region. They all think that she took the Hunter Exam because she was forced to if she wanted a chance at the Elite spot, not because of her own choice." William explained.

"The locals must have known this as well, hence that is why they think Rosaline is only interested in proving herself and wants her to step down." Phillip said quietly, and William nodded, indicating Phillip was right.

"But if the audience is attached to me, they should be attached to Rosaline, because she has been in here a year longer than I did." Ash reasoned, as he took a cookie. Pakura followed suit, and she nibbled on her cookie.

"Yes, you may not know this, but some locals thought she lacked empathy because of the image she portrays despite the fact that she is a psychic." William replied. "You, on the other hand, not only have charisma that draws people to you, but you also have a sense of empathy that got the crowd to love you."

"I get what you mean." Jude said, as he finished his tea, and reached for another cookie. "We can't exactly let go of her. She does light up our relatively gloomy Elite, and she is our friend."

'Friend? Please, the most we all do is tolerate her.' Ash thought. 'She made matters worse for herself when she forced you all to give her two more chances.'

"As much as I agree with you, it's not up for me to decide. You know our region caters to the requests of our locals. While I can finalize the decision, the public has a great influence over it. And they are the ones who chooses even our Prince and Princess." William said.

That is actually true. While they had worked to get their position, the most important thing is the approval of the locals in the region in order to be able to keep their positions. If majority are not satisfied with the person working in a certain position, that person would have no choice but to step down.

While it is true Ash did dethrone Pakura when he defeated her and become the new Prince, the public wasn't happy with the news and almost created a petition for Pakura to keep her Princess title. However, Ash announced that he decided Pakura will keep her position and he hoped to work together with her to help the region, they gave him their approval as he had morals and sense of teamwork, besides being a Hunter and a powerful trainer. This fact wasn't known to Ash, but it was known by William and the other Elite members, who agreed to keep this quiet.

"Rosaline would have to do even better if the public is going to accept her as an Elite member." William warned them. "Her Two-Star Hunter status is not going to help her now, and neither is her talent or her secondary occupations. This tournament would be her only opportunity to turn things around."

"I'm sure Rosaline would convince everyone in the region that she is worthy of the position, and she wasn't after the perks that came with it, as she did express a wish to help this region as well." Jude replied.

"Tell her to aim higher in case she falls short." William answered. "Otherwise, you'll be short one member once this tournament ends. And I don't want to see that happen either."

* * *

Pakura knocked on the connecting door three times, before entering the room with her Gardevoir, who was carrying a tray containing a bowl and a plate containing a pie. Rosaline was sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes red and squinty, and her hair looked like it had seen better days, as it hadn't been brushed, let alone washed, and her thigh-highs had come unglued and were baggy around her knees. Her Espeon was rubbing her head against her leg, trying to comfort her, but to no avail.

"You got to eat something." Pakura remarked, as she set the tray in front of her.

"Ramen?" Rosaline sounded surprised. "How did you know it was my favourite?"

"Lucky guess?" Pakura replied. She did not mention that she often saw Rosaline ordering takeout from a Japanese restaurant, and it was always ramen that she ordered.

Rosaline nodded, as if her answer was satisfactory, and started on her ramen, which she noted was really delicious.

"I guess you know the price we pay for being a PAL Elite member." Pakura stated. "We have to meet up to the crowd's expectations, because we are not an ordinary region."

"I noticed." Rosaline said sadly, as she took tiny spoonfuls of the ramen soup, which the salty taste reminded her of her tears. "Back then, I just knew I had to have that spot. I did not think of the shadows and darkness behind the curtains of being a PAL Elite member."

"We warned you, but you didn't listen." Pakura said curtly. "You said, 'I'm still willing to apply. Just tell me what to do in order to get in.'"

"I know!" Rosaline cried. "Back then, I just wanted that spot so badly. I thought I could handle them, but apparently…"

"I can safely say you certainly did not expect the backlash you would receive when the locals hear about what happened when you applied." Pakura said knowingly. "That's the price you have to pay, Rosaline. When you took the Elite spot, you are basically signing up for all the challenges that would come with it. The high expectations of the locals, the dangerous missions, the killing your targets without hesitation…you only know about how dangerous it is to be a PAL Elite, but today, you found out about the expectations where you are supposed to follow our rules without question, and know about the workings of this region. Being an Elite in this region is no joke, but at that time, you inadvertently thought of it as one, thinking we are just ordinary Elites. Why do you think our challengers would wait months, or even years before challenging us?"

Rosaline stayed silent, as she knew Pakura was right.

"As you know, this position costs a lot more than risking your life to keep this region running. If you are unprepared, it can cost everything you are. That is probably why your parents didn't want you to apply for this position in the first place. All the perks you have now, they are not free, you know. Life as a PAL Elite member changed all of us. Or do you still feel like the sweet little girl you promised you would be to your parents, and think that it would be all beds of roses once you get in?" Pakura challenged.

"No, I doubt I am that person anymore, and I'm sorry if I insulted all of you back then…I defied the three of you, and made you give me two more chances." Rosaline hung her head, as she ate her ramen. "I didn't know that it would receive a huge counterblast when they found out."

"We did. That is why we covered it up. We didn't tell the public because we knew it would break you. Remember what I said after you were let in?"

"No one gets left behind." Rosaline whispered.

"Yes, we know what it is like to be forcibly left behind, that was why I came up with this idea. You are a great team player; that was why we decided to give you a chance...then again, you basically sealed your fate the moment you joined us." Pakura said curtly. "But somebody leaked it. And here we are."

"I don't deserve that spot, do I?" Rosaline asked miserably.

"It doesn't matter what the public thinks. It doesn't even matter what we think. It's a matter of what you think. Do YOU think you deserve that spot?" Pakura asked.

Rosaline stayed silent, and Pakura went on, "Anyway, you're not the only one who received backlashes before. All three of us did at some point. The locals did not think I was worthy of trying for a spot because I did not win a Trainer's Tournament. They gave in only when I won against Jude and Phillip, and I was already a two-star Hunter when I challenged them. I also receive hate mail, you know, how I am only good for my looks and how girls with big busts mean they have no brains, and I am better off their sex object."

Rosaline looked up. "Really?"

Pakura nodded. "Unfortunately, yes, and now it's your turn to prove yourself. They are going to watch your performance in the Pokémon World Championships carefully. The good thing is, we cannot dismiss you yet, as the Pokémon World Championships are still going on. So you have until that time to prove your worth to them." Pakura handed her a plate, which was a plate of chocolate brownies she had baked. "If you do really well, especially if you didn't lose any Pokémon in the early rounds, I'm sure they'll reconsider."

Rosaline received the plate with a word of thanks, as Pakura said, "After all, you're the Fiery Phoenix, aren't you?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Rosaline asked.

"A Phoenix would always rise from the ashes." Pakura answered. "I am afraid if you do not convince them, we are not allowed to give you another chance you like to beg for so much back then. The controversy would only end, if either you prove yourself…" She stopped her sentence there.

But still, Rosaline could almost hear her say, "Or you step down from your position."

Pakura stood up, heading for the connecting door once more. Before she opened the door back to her room, she stopped, turned back to Rosaline, and said, "But your priority now is to think of the reason why you wanted this position so badly in the first place. If it's for the people, the Pokémon and for the sake of the region, then you know you can draw your strength from this desire to protect everyone in the region as the region's strongest protectors. When a person has something important they want to protect that's when they can become truly strong. However, if you join just to prove you can be the very best to your childhood bullies or whatever…I'm afraid you won't be able to prove yourself to them, and neither would you be a loss to us."

With that, she left back to her own room, leaving Rosaline to think.

* * *

When Ash left the Hunter Association's Headquarters, he found Cynthia waiting for him with two ice cream cones. She offered one to him, and Ash noted it was chocolate-chip flavoured.

"Here. I brought you this." Cynthia said, offering the cone to him. Ash looked at the cone, before accepting it with a word of thanks. Pikachu and Lucario looked at each other, not liking the way this was going.

"Why don't we take a walk?" Cynthia asked, and Ash nodded. They took a walk along Luonto City, eating their ice creams in silence, and Cynthia decided to break the silence.

"I am on your side for this article. No one really deserves this humiliation." Cynthia said.

"Unfortunately, the article was objective, and told the truth." Ash replied.

"Yes, but that does not mean they have to expose her…atrocious behaviour like this." Cynthia answered quietly, licking her ice cream. "She really is a good Elite member, being able to win the Champions' Tournament."

"Tell that to our locals." Ash chuckled humorlessly. "Not all of you understand the reality of being part of PAL's Pokémon League. I mean, even our Battle Gym members are Hunters themselves, and had at least a star in their field. Naturally, they'll expect more from the Elite Four and the Champion."

Cynthia shot him a sympathetic look, and said, "Yeah, it's hard for us Champions too, you know. The people expecting us to be the face of the region, the one they can count on to bring the victory of this tournament to them. They place their hopes on the Gym Leaders and Elite Fours too, of course, but they have higher hopes for us that we would bring home the win."

"Works differently here." Ash mumbled. "We don't become an Elite Four or the Champion to be acknowledged by everyone. The one who is acknowledged by everyone becomes the Elite Four or the Champion. In other words, our position essentially depends on their approval. And Rosaline is on the verge of losing hers."

"She'll be fine. She's strong, after all." Cynthia smiled.

"Thanks for the vote in confidence." Ash replied.

"Why don't we get some lunch?" Cynthia suggested, and Ash realized they had stopped outside a café. Ash nodded, and they entered the place. They snagged a table at the back, and looked at the menu that was provided under the table.

"What do you want?" Cynthia asked. "I'll go to the counter and order it for you."

"I guess I'll order the chicken patty with potato wedges and scrambled eggs." Ash mumbled. "For drinks, it'd be cherrycola."

Cynthia nodded, and left the table to order their food.

Pikachu wasn't happy with the way this was going. Sure, Cynthia orders Ash's food for him once, but Pakura makes his food for him all the time when they were travelling together. What was more, after a while, Ash did not need to tell her what he wanted; she somehow knew and when he woke up, the food was already waiting for him. Pikachu doubted that Cynthia could cook, as probably back at their own Plateau, they had cooks to make their food, like how the Battle Tower staff prepares food for them.

He definitely knew Pakura would make a good wife with her cooking skills and the ability to complete various household chores, and even fix tears in various clothes. He knew Lucario shared the same point of view as he once stated that Ash should just marry Pakura and be done with it. He also agreed with Pikachu that Pakura would make the hottest wife in the entire PAL Region. After she is the region's Beauty Queen, and is always in the Hot columns for PokéSTYLE's year-end fashion Hot and Not columns. Ash had laughed it off as a joke, but unknown to him, Lucario was actually serious.

Meanwhile, Ash had formulated a plan on how to sabotage Cilan during the cooking competition. He had taken some laxatives from Pakura's First Aid Kit (He couldn't actually tell it was a First Aid Kit at first, as the top of the lid was actually pink in colour, and the clutch was in the form of a pink ribbon with a jewel in the middle).

With these laxatives, he would place them inside the ingredients the competitors would use….disguised as Cilan, of course. He checked his CommuniDex for the time, and figured the best time would be after he finishes lunch, as by then, the competitors would most likely be in the locker room getting ready for the competition.

When Cynthia came back with his food, he nodded to thank her, and ate his lunch, thinking of how he could infiltrate the Pokémon Center rooms to take Cilan's clothes. He knew from Pakura's information that the boys would be sharing one room and the girls another.

Meanwhile, the disguised Dragon Princess was walking past the café with her protective Espeon. Although she wanted to leave him behind, he refused to let her go without him, insisting that the Dragon Prince told him to protect her when he's not around.

"Look at that. It's so clear she's manipulating him." The Dragon Princess remarked. She had decided to go out and celebrate as she had been feeling happiness the whole morning thanks to the article which exposed the truth behind Rosaline's rise to becoming an Elite member of their region.

She knew that Rosaline was an insult to the requirements the Dragon Duo had made back then, which was why she exacted revenge in the first place, in the form of the article. What added to her satisfaction is that she could sense Rosaline's distress from her location in the cave.

" **Indeed."** Espeon replied. **"Do you think Ash would use his psychic powers to check her?"**

"I doubt it. Ash still has morals despite his personality." The Dragon Princess said. "It looks like he's planning a major sabotage. Maybe we can help him a bit, I don't like those people either, one tried to steal my Gardevoir after all. Besides, we're celebrating, aren't we?" Espeon nodded, and with that, they walked past the café, thinking of how they could play a part in that sabotage without the Champion finding out.

* * *

"Knew that Rosaline girl was a fraud. Looks like PAL isn't as great as a region as we thought." May said, as she was reading the newspaper with her brother Max.

Max nodded. "If they allow a fraud as a member of the Pokémon League, perhaps we can actually defeat the other members too, even the Champion Red." He was daydreaming about him betting with Pakura that if she lost to him, she'd have to marry him, and she agreed. He won, of course, and Pakura accepted him as her Consort, and they had a huge wedding right in PAL, and had lots of children. Since she had to stay home to do household chores and take care of the kids, this lead him to take over her position as the Leader of the Elite.

"Max? What are you drooling about?" May asked, as they stopped at the edge of the forest.

"Don't you think if I get Pakura as a wife, I would live in comfort for the rest of my life?" Max asked. "Furthermore, I'd get a good lay in bed too."

"You're too young to think of such things!" May chided. "Have you been reading Brock's porn magazines or what?"

Max's face turned red, and May was in disbelief. "Wait, you did?"

"Brock always leaves them lying around, and as a curious teenager, I'd take a look." Max muttered, much to May's dismay. "But really, if Pakura is already a turn-on with her clothes on…" Max was dreamily staring at a direction, most likely thinking what Pakura would look without her clothes on.

"I'm going to have a talking-to with Brock about where he stashes his magazines." May muttered angrily. They did not notice they had walked past the tree the Dragon Princess was hiding, and it was too late as the Dragon Princess grabbed them, knocked them out, and levitated them up the branches of the tree, tying them to the said branches. She searched Max's pocket, and extracted the key to the boys' room from his pocket. She then disguised herself as May, down to the clothes, and headed to the Pokémon Center.

'No one's inside. Good.' The Dragon Princess thought, unlocking the door to the boys' room. She knew where the room was as there was the room number on the tag attached to the key. She snuck inside, and wrinkled her nose at the mess the boys have made in the room, as she closed and locked the door. Much to her disgust, there were leftover pizza on the carpeted floor.

'Seriously, you don't live here.' The Dragon Princess thought, as she let out her Gallade and got him to levitate her over to Cilan's bed, and secured his outfit and even got a pair of his shoes and the signature bowtie he always wore. She nodded to Gallade and he used Teleport to get them out of there.

"Ok, time to use another disguise." The Dragon Princess dropped her illusion as May, and disguised herself as Pakura. She returned Gallade, and let out her Espeon. She disguised Espeon as Sylveon, which was Pakura's signature Pokémon, and made her way to Ash, locating him via aura. He was already somewhere near the building where the cooking contest would be held.

"Hey, Ash!" The Dragon Princess called out to him. Ash turned his head, and was relieved to see Pakura running towards him.

"Paku!" Ash sounded delighted to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you." The Dragon Princess replied. "Here, this may help you." She tossed Ash Cilan's clothes and shoes, which gave Ash a pleasant surprise.

"How did you get them?" Ash asked, somewhat awed.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeves." The Dragon Princess replied. "Oh, don't forget to sabotage Brock next."

"Why Brock?" Ash asked.

"He didn't participate in this Cooking Contest because he is preparing for a Pokémon Beauty Contest that is going to be held somewhere in the Top 32." The Dragon Princess replied. She had extracted a memory that held a conversation about this event from May while she was tying them up in the branches.

"Thanks for the info." Ash smiled, and the Dragon Princess nodded. "By the way, that contest is something that you would participate in, right?"

"I would, but I'm not a Pokémon Breeder, Ash." The Dragon Princess replied.

"True, but you are very good at grooming Pokémon, maybe you can give it a shot." Ash remarked.

"I already have a lot on my plate with my positions as a judge in the Pokémon Contest and the upcoming Pokémon Showcase. What is more, I still have Elite and Princess Duties in addition to my participation in the tournament." The Dragon Princess said dryly. "Besides, I think Jude would be the one participating." With that, she gave a wave to Ash, and walked away.

As she left, Ash called out, "Remember to send Dawn the repair bill for your Mega Charm!"

* * *

"It always has been a long line in Jude's café. His shop is one of the more popular ones after all." Phillip sighed, as he was queuing up for a slice of chocolate cake he loved very much, and was very popular in their region. True, Pakura can bake those too, but she is so busy Phillip hardly even had the time to ask her to bake a cake for him. Besides, she isn't exactly close to him, he doubted she would even bother.

" **Is it just me, or are the stores in PAL much more crowded lately?"** Pachirisu asked.

"Well, can't help it. We do stock the best quality goods, and there are lots to see." Phillip replied. 'At least no one's asking me about the article on Rosaline.'

Phillip someone managed to procure a slice of chocolate cake, and he sat down with a cup of Earl Grey tea. He sighed in relief at being away from the crowd.

" **What do you think of the article, though?"** Pachirisu asked Phillip.

"I can't deny any of those things written in the article, because it's all true." Phillip sighed. "I admit I did play a part in giving Rosaline her License, because I was one of the examiners in the year she took part in it."

" **The public just wants the best people to be their regional Elites, and feels that Rosaline doesn't play that part well, huh?"** Pachirisu sighed.

"And this region believes in utmost respect for their regional rules and the superiors. In this case, the superiors would be us. However, Rosaline had not shown respect to our rules, and dared talk back to us. She even underestimated our challenge and made a fatal mistake, which is something she shouldn't make if she had travelled our region." Phillip said, slight anger creeping into his voice. "So, in a way, I say she deserved this. The public loved Pakura much better than Rosaline despite the latter's sunny smiles and her bubbly personality, because they felt she lacked the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, unlike Pakura who can relate to how people feel with just her words."

" **You have to admit though, that girl does lighten up the PAL Elite."** Pachirisu commented.

"You're right, but she has a long way to go before the public recognizes her as an official member. The way things are now, she's as good as being put in probation. And you know Elite members who are on probation are stripped of their share of regional authority, according to the Rule Book the Dragon Duo had made." Phillip replied.

"They're all gone?" A shocked female voice said. Phillip looked up to see Champion Diantha at the counter.

"I'm terribly sorry." The female café employee replied. "It has always been one of the most popular orders."

"What a tragedy…" Diantha looked down on the ground, distressed. "I came all the way here after shooting my movie because I thought I could have the famous chocolate cake in my friend's café…it's the end of the world."

" **End of the world?"** Phillip and Pachirisu looked at each other.

Phillip looked down at his slice, which was relatively untouched, and said, "Hey, we can share a slice, if you want."

"Really?" Diantha turned to the source of the voice, and was slightly surprised to see Phillip, but masked it quickly.

Phillip nodded, and Diantha promptly took a seat next to him, as he used his fork to cut the slice neatly into half.

'He cut the cake without spilling a crumb, and in one second too.' Diantha thought. 'Something tells me he had been training with weapons, with the precise cut and how fast it was. And there is also the article on his fellow member too. Why did the locals themselves criticize Rosaline just because she wasn't a Hunter when she applied for the final Elite spot?'

Sure, Diantha could understand the anger that Rosaline disrespected the region's rules, but didn't the other Elites give her a third chance and somehow succeeded. Otherwise, why would she be here instead of being back at her own home?

As if Phillip read her mind, he said, "In a way, Rosaline deserved this. It was pathetic seeing and hearing her plead for two more chances she never actually deserved to prove herself, as if that spot had her name on it. If you ask me, Pakura should've killed her on the spot."

"Killed her?" Diantha was shocked, as she hastily swallowed her bite of chocolate cake. She dimly noted it was delicious and the chocolate was rich. "Why would all of you consider to kill an innocent girl like her?"

"An innocent girl like her doesn't have any business applying to be one of us. After all, the PAL Elite members are never innocent." Phillip retorted. "Rosaline joined out of her own volition, then she has to face the consequences of defying this region as she has no right in doing so because she is a lowly tournament winner at that time. She also broke one crucial requirement that was set beforehand. If she really wants to be one of us even after this article comes out, then she has to stand up for herself, and prove her desire to put her life on the line for this region instead of just joining for her own purposes. Otherwise, she's useless to the region, and we will dispose of her."

Phillip's words was like an icy bucket of water splashing on her insides. Although PAL was a prestigious region with exceptional Elites, it looked like there were a dark side to the members themselves. Only Rosaline was clean, and they are going to dispose of her because of it.

Phillip finished his cake, and gulped down his tea. "Well, now you know why we are an independent region, and why we choose to isolate ourselves. In fact, if it wasn't for this tournament, we wouldn't even have revealed ourselves. But as long as you stay away, I'm sure you'll be fine." With that, he jogged away, leaving Diantha to watch after him.

'No, somehow, somewhere, Phillip Robinson is putting up an act.' Diantha thought. 'He has not opened up to me yet. I don't know why, but there's just something about him that makes me want to help him.'

* * *

Rosaline couldn't imagine the dirty looks she got as she made her way out of the tower on the way to meet Siebold, as he had invited her to watch him in the cooking contest, and she had accepted. As much as she would have liked to stay in the Tower, she knew she couldn't hide forever, and would have to confront them sometime. Thanks Arceus she had a protective Espeon, or she might have been in serious trouble.

Some of those people even made extremely threatening hand gestures towards her as she had walked past them. Someone had even written on the fountain outside the Battle Tower (in chalk, but still): Rosaline is a mutinous phoney.

A mutinous phoney? Her? Her reputation is being besmirched, and all because she wasn't a Hunter when she applied. She supposed she shouldn't just immediately apply after winning the Trainer's Tournament, otherwise, she might not have stubbornly begged the other three for more chances to prove herself worthy of the spot. But really, she earned the Hunter's License, and her occupations as an author and artist are thanks to her own hard work. Rosaline had ignored the whispered remarks about her, like how she did not deserve the high-life she is living now, and Rosaline was sure they had whispered loudly on purpose so that she could hear them.

"Are you alright?" Siebold asked, concerned, as Rosaline entered his preparation room.

"I'm fine. It's just an apple core." Rosaline replied.

"Still. That was way cool on how your Espeon used Psychic on that person who tried to attack you. Some sharp reflexes your Espeon has." Siebold commented.

"That's why she's my partner." Rosaline smiled proudly.

"But really, that was a derogatory article." Siebold went on.

"I don't think the article matters anymore, Siebold. Since the article told the truth and not exaggerated lies, I cannot do anything about it. They even played the evidence on TV. You know, when I joined up, my best hope was not to disgrace myself and…" Rosaline paused.

"And what?" Siebold asked.

"I want to be myself as well, you know. I could tell that the negative events that changed all of the other four was what allowed them to cope with the PAL Elite life. While it is true they retained their personality, but I don't want to cope with Elite life like this. If possible, I don't want to have to kill anyone, nor do I want anyone to have to kill me, but PAL is a 'kill-or-be-killed' region. And killing is inevitable in the Hunter Exam they made me take if I ever wanted a chance to attain the last spot. But still, I don't want the Elite life to change me. Turn me into some kind of monster I'm not."

Siebold stayed silent. So Rosaline was trying to maintain her identity, her purity of self, despite the implied darkness of the PAL Elite life. He had to admire her determination, but her determination had cost her, as evidenced by the article.

Curious, Siebold asked the question that had been bugging him: Why did she want to become a PAL Elite member in the first place?

Rosaline stayed silent, before saying, "Because I want my own abilities to be challenged, and only this region could give me the thrill of challenge that I always wanted. There is something exhilarating fighting to protect the region and Pokémon living here, while taking all responsibilities of an Elite member and taking up a secondary occupation and a leisure activity they can interview us about. However, Pakura said this reason would be the very reason why I would lose my spot if I keep fighting as this is under the category of for my own benefit."

'As much as I hate to admit it, Pakura is a wise Leader.' Siebold thought. 'She has the ability to look into the confusing mess of a situation and see things for what they are, and figure out the solution. Only she is giving Rosaline hints and not the answer in hopes that Rosaline would find out what she really needs to do, in order for Rosaline to be able to prove her worth.'

"But, I keep wishing that I could think of a way to show them that they don't dictate my life. That I am more than just a girl with a normal childhood." Rosaline went on.

"Only you can't afford to think like that, huh?" Siebold said rhetorically.

"Yeah, that's how the Elite Four works in this region. After all, like Pakura said, we are the lead protectors of this region." Rosaline sighed. "My teammates are probably going to get some sort of punishment as well. All because they allowed me to walk free and let me in despite the fact that I was intransigent towards them, forcing them to give me two more chances to get that spot. It's most likely my fault should they get some kind of retribution."

"I'm sure your fellow Elites won't want to see you leave." Siebold reasoned. "After all, you became friends with them during those three years, right? Even they can't hold a grudge for that long."

Rosaline sighed. "I don't know. Jude was the only one friendly towards me back then. The other two were more hostile."

Siebold's eyebrows were furrowed in worry. "Do you know why?" He asked.

"It's because they said I lack empathy, despite being a psychic." Tears welled up in Rosaline's eyes again. "I try to understand how they really feel, but I don't have the power to sense emotions like the Dragon Duo, and neither do I want to experience a life-changing setback in order to be able to empathize with them. I cannot afford to be affected by their dark psychology because I am determined to stay strong for them."

'Her secrets are starting to pour out.' Siebold thought, as Rosaline went on, "If only you knew how hard life was for me...You'd know that I knew they thought I was second-rate at best? Yeah! Two years ago I overheard them wishing that the Dragon Duo never disappeared, and that they'd have chosen one of them as a Psychic specialist over me. They said the members of the Hunter's Association even thought that the Dragon Duo were much stronger psychics than I would ever be...it was so sad. And did you know they didn't even throw a public celebration for me when I officially became an Elite member, unlike the other four? Yes, Pakura herself ordered the region not to organize a public party for it. All we had was a meal at the Plateau with the Zodiacs, and that was about it. Not that I am much of a party-goer, but at that moment, I knew that they never really accepted me as part of the Elite. I never complained about all these because I didn't want to prove my parents right about how this life would crush me!"

Rosaline's skirt was doing an adequate job of absorbing her tears, as Siebold placed his hand on her back, patting her comfortingly. It was clear that Rosaline is one of the nicer members of the PAL Elites, and she is a person with good intentions.

Rosaline lifted her head, and she had this look in her eyes that reminded Siebold of those blazing coals that were used in fireplaces. She had a fixed concentration in that look of hers. "However, I know they would never leave me behind. True, Pakura did order the celebration not to be held, but she was the one who ordered the matter to be covered up. I need to think of what do I fight for and why do I fight, and prove myself to be worthy of my position. I may not be like the other Elite members or the Champion, but I have traits that makes me unique among them. I will show the Dragon Duo members who the strongest psychic is."

"That's the spirit." Siebold smiled, just as an announcement called for all participants to gather at the kitchen.

"Good luck." Rosaline said. "Thanks for…listening." Siebold nodded to Rosaline, before leaving the room. She decided to give herself a few more minutes before joining the audience.

Unknown to him, he walked past a disguised Dragon Princess, who was listening to their conversation.

" **Why did you manipulate Rosaline's emotions like that?"** Her Espeon asked. **"You basically erased her despair over the matter, and gave her the feeling of hope."**

"Please, that girl is all talk but she doesn't actually act." The Dragon Princess sneered. "She is more concerned about her reputation rather than her fighting skills. That would cause more psychological blow when I strike later, and remove the emotional manipulation I put on her."

" **She's the type to need to watch the horror with her own eyes in order to unlock more of her psychic potential."** Espeon remarked.

"I concede she saw the 'kill or be killed' part of PAL. However, she does not know how scary a life-changing event could be, how horrifying the people can be to others, or even the reason why we created the Elite Four." The Dragon Princess shook her head. "Well, no matter. She would get what she deserves soon enough."

* * *

"Well, Jude, it looks like we have a big event ahead of us." Jin said. Jin was a famous fashion designer in the PAL Region, and is also Jude's personal stylist and wardrobe designer, he was also a Two Star Youth and Beauty Hunter, a member of the Zodiacs and also a member of the PAL Pokémon League, having his own Gym, where he gives out part of the Wind Symbol to trainers who have defeated him. "So why don't we start our prep, and after that, you can pop over to check on the arrangements."

"Alright." Jude said to him back absent-mindedly.

"You can even watch the cooking contest while I do the prep. The prep is going to take quite a while, so it should help with entertainment, yeah?"

"Yeah." Jude nodded.

"Disturbed over the article?" Jin asked sympathetically.

"How did you guess?" Jude asked.

"Everyone's talking about it." Jin replied. "There was pandemonium in the Hunter's Association when the article came up. We had a Zodiac meeting, and poor Makoto was being interrogated on how he got the information."

"So what did he say?" Jude asked.

"It turned out someone had anonymously sent the tape in, and wrote a letter, telling him to write an article about it. The Hacker Hunters checked for forgery on the evidence, but turned out nothing, so Makoto was forced to publish it, as the others said the public has a right to know the truth." Jin answered. "I must say, the article surprised me. The way she begged for another chance…"

"Yeah, I get it." Jude cut him off. "Rosaline's mistake was to challenge us immediately after she won the Trainer's Tournament. She didn't bother training for another few months before trying for the Elite spot, as she was confident she was able to take us on after she won. That was her downfall, and how she wasted her one chance."

"But she didn't care, did she, and asked you for more chances?" Jin retorted, as he started on Jude's hair.

"Yeah, the problem is, if anything happens to the Leader, one of us would have to immediately take over, as per the rules set by the Dragon Duo. This is so that the region can be kept running. I admit, Rosaline herself doesn't know this fact well, and thus she isn't ready to shoulder the burden of sharing the authority of running the whole region."

"The locals must be aware of this too, because they will petition for her to give up her Elite spot if she doesn't prove herself in the future matches." Jin agreed. "They had decided to give her this chance because Rosaline is still fairly popular in this region, and she was announced as being a PAL Elite anyway."

"That's good news, but let's just hope she doesn't blow this chance away, because she certainly can't beg for another to prove herself." Jude sighed in frustration. "Rosaline always thinks the best of everyone and is a really sweet person, which does bring a nice change to our dark psychology, since she tries to get along with everyone, but she's naïve for her age."

"The problem is, she used telepathy for the Champions' Tournament, which means everyone now knows what she is capable of, which would make it hard for her to prove herself, as they may already have thought up of countermeasures against it." Jin shook his head.

"I think Rosaline can make it." Jude said. "If she can pass all the Hunter Exams within three weeks, then she can prove herself worthy of the position."

"With this article, I am sure there would be many people waiting to challenge her to try and take her position away. She needs to prove herself to be stronger than all of them." Jin remarked. The thing is, the winners of the Trainer's Tournament would usually choose to challenge the entire Elite Four to become Champion (which is pretty common).

While it was true all the Elite spots were filled up, they also can choose to dethrone an Elite Four member and take the spot for themselves. If they choose the latter challenge, they must choose a specific Elite member to challenge in an attempt to replace them in the Elite. However, when challenging the said Elite member, they must battle the Elite member with the two types they would specialize in should they win the challenge (the only catch is that they cannot choose the types the other three members they did not choose to challenge had). Also, the challenger must also meet the other requirements that gives them the right to apply to be an Elite Four member.

Another thing is, if an Elite member isn't happy with his or her ranking, they can challenge the person with their desired ranking as well. If the person with the desired ranking loses to his or her challenger, they would have to switch rankings. Rosaline had tried to challenge Phillip for his ranking once. Although she didn't lose as badly as she did against Pakura, Phillip still managed to crush her despite the type disadvantage thanks to the fact that he was able to outwit her in terms of strategy.

"Rosaline needs to find a reason why she is fighting to keep her position. A reason that would fuel her desire to still be part of our group. If it is only to prove herself to her childhood bullies, I am afraid she won't be able to keep her position for much longer." Jude shook his head.

"Why do you become an Elite, then?" Jin asked.

Jude smiled. "My reason is that I wish to protect the Pokémon here, because they were there for me at my darkest times." He scratched his Purrloin under her chin, who purred and nuzzled his hand. "The people here also believed in me when no one else would, so I wish to fight for them too."

There was a tap at the door, and Elesa stepped in. "Can I have a minute?" She asked. In the mirror, Jude watched as Jin nodded, and left for the adjacent room. Elesa came up behind Jude, and they examined each other's reflections for a while.

"You have questions about the modelling show?" Jude asked, finally breaking the silence.

Elesa shook her head. "No, I'm here for a more personal reason."

"Shoot." Jude checked his nails.

"Look, I'm sorry about my outburst earlier." Elesa apologized.

"It's fine." Jude said in a tone that dismissed her. But Elesa wasn't done.

"They all believed in your innocence now." Elesa stated. "They" meant the fellow workers from the entertainment industry in the Unova region. She roughly knew the reason behind why Jude harbours a secret hatred for the opposite gender, since they had worked with each other and therefore, they knew each other before Jude moved to the PAL Region.

"Of course. But before the Dragon Duo organized a trial for me that was televised in all the regions, did they?" When Elesa didn't answer, Jude said, "Look, you weren't there. I was. I saw the looks in their eyes that asked me how I could besmirch their entertainment industry. Although I wasn't close to the Dragon Duo, they believed that I was manipulated, even when there was no proof I didn't kidnap Lacey out of malicious intent. The Dragon Duo wrote to me, and offered me a chance to further my career here, and not only that, they told me they would be waiting for me to join the Elite Four they were creating."

Elesa kept quiet.

"And that is why this region is my home now. I am grateful to the Dragon Duo, and I would do whatever it takes to find them, because I believe something happened to them which was why they vanished. I want to save them like they did me." Jude went on. "It doesn't matter what people back in Unova think now, because my modelling contract doesn't exist there anymore."

'But I miss you.' Elesa thought. After Jude left, although she knew the show had to go on, it was lonely without him, as he was very friendly, often wishing to be friends with everyone he meets, and for everyone to get along. He is also extremely sociable, often spending time with most of his workers outside of work, and everyone thought he was funny, witty and extremely able to hold a conversation.

"I'm not going to say that I don't think you ever cared for me, because I think you did, and I am sure you believed in my innocence back then too. The thing is, I care about you too, Elesa. You were a really good friend back then, and as your former friend….I'll say, once more: Please stay away from us, from me." Jude warned her, and went to the door to call for Jin to continue his prep. "Anyway, you better get ready for the modelling show. Aquamarine would arrive for your prep soon."

* * *

The kitchen consisted of multiple cooking stations, equipped with all the kitchen equipment anyone could think off right off the top of their heads. It was also complete with a sink, stove and even a high-tech oven that can also serve as a microwave. In front of the stage, there was also a long table with ten chairs, which was the Judges' table. At the side at elevated platforms, there were people standing around the kitchen, barricaded by railings. This was the venue of the cooking competition.

"Welcome, everyone!" The speaker was woman with long, dark blue flowing hair which tied back into a large ponytail of which a large section of her bangs were covering one of her eyes. She had eyes that matched her hair, and her forehead was covered by a pink headband which had a cake design stitched on the side. She was wearing a cupcake print dress along with a frilly apron.

"My name is Artemis, and I am a Two Star Gourmet Hunter. I shall be your host for this afternoon." The woman announced, to cheers from the crowd. Among the crowd were four certain PAL members.

"You can watch Siebold if you like, Rosaline." Ash said. "But we are going to Jude's fashion show after we watch our masterpiece."

Rosaline sighed, but nodded, trying to ignore the stares that she is currently receiving. Pakura had told her to just treat them as if they were air, but seriously, if you ask her, it doesn't really work. Then again, Pakura is much less sensitive than Rosaline.

'Where did you apply the laxatives?' Phillip telepathically asked Ash.

'All the ingredients. The laxative is so potent it only needed one drop in order for it to work.' Ash replied.

'You are going to harm a lot of people with this sabotage.' Ash could almost imagine Phillip frowning in disapproval.

'Sacrifices have to be made.' Ash mentally shrugged, just as Artemis welcomed the participants, who all walked out to their assigned kitchen stations. Among them was Cilan, who was near the front row. Siebold was three rows behind Cilan, and also more to the right side of the kitchen. Artemis also welcomed the famous chefs from other countries, who would be the judges for the contest.

"And right here…" Artemis announced, as she motioned towards the curtain, which opened to reveal tables and tables piled with various ingredients, ranging from fruit, vegetables, meat, and even various berries that were usually found in the wild. There was even olive oil among the ingredients, which was said to be one of the most expensive cooking oils in the world.

"We have provided the ingredients the participants may need for the making of their dish! The theme of the dish would be decided by lottery. When time starts, participants must come up to these tables and get the ingredients they want. They would have forty-five minutes to cook one main course. The judges would taste the dishes, and decide on the final 8 participants to compete in the final dessert round, which would be held the next day. Now, let's spin the roulette!"

At the screen, there was a box containing texts, but they were switching between one to another so fast it was a blur. Finally, it stopped, and Artemis said, "It looks like the theme for the main course is Western food! Is everyone ready?"

When the participants nodded their assent, Artemis then said, "Now, let the contest begin!"

The clock behind her also started counting down, and all the participants rushed to the tables, carrying baskets to help contain the ingredients they would be collecting. Siebold, however, stayed at his station. His eyes were closed, presumably thinking of what he wanted to make in the first place. Two minutes later, he opened them, and proceeded to collect the ingredients he required.

There were sounds of chopping, stoves getting turned on, and even frying as the participants hoped to finish their dishes as fast as possible, as speed is also a factor when the judges were to give marks for their dishes. Soon, the kitchen were filled with various aromas, making the audience who were watching hungry.

'I'd eat them, if I didn't know what was in the ingredients.' Pakura thought. 'I've got to make some more of those laxatives later, Ash must have used them all if all the ingredients were spiked with one drop of them.'

Just then, there was a crash, and someone's dish fell all over the floor. The poor woman was in tears as she had to start all over again, but one of the judges who came over to see what was happening, assured her that they would give her more time, while they cleaned up the mess. The other cooks, including Cilan and Siebold, turned to see the scene, though Siebold returned immediately to his cooking after he caught a glimpse.

"Siebold's efficient, I'll give him that." Phillip said.

"That is because he's working as a chef in a restaurant back in Kalos. He sometimes prepares meals for Grant and Valerie." Rosaline replied.

"A veteran, I expect." Pakura muttered, as one of the participants finished her meal. Siebold turned out to be the third to finish cooking his food. Soon, everyone were putting their finishing touches on their dishes.

'By the way, Paku, how long does it take for the effects to kick in?' Ash asked telepathically.

'Unfortunately, it only takes five minutes before they start going to the toilet. The laxatives you took were no ordinary straight-from-the-pharmacy type. It's actually an herbal concoction. You know there are a lot of cases where people had a bad stomach-ache but for some reason they can't let the indigested food out in the toilet, and they are in a hurry.'

'Good.' Ash inwardly grinned, as the judges called out one person at a time to look at their dish, marking them for their appearance and the time it took to make the said dish. They then took a spoonful of the dish and sampled it themselves, and giving them marks for the taste. Each judge would give ten marks, three for appearance, two for the time it took, and five for the taste. As there were ten judges, the total marks would be upon hundred. The eight people with the highest marks would get into the dessert round.

When they got to the second row, the judges suddenly had a stomach-ache and needed to head for the toilets. Ash took it as his cue to go down, along with the other three. The audience started whispering at their sudden appearance on stage, and Ash took a bite of the previous dishes, before spitting them out, having tasted the laxatives.

"There are laxatives in all these dishes!" He announced, much to the audience's horror.

"What's going on here?" One of the judges held her stomach.

"It means someone must have sabotaged the participants." Rosaline said grimly. "Phillip, lend me that device you got to detect substances. Now."

Phillip nodded, and handed Rosaline the device, and Rosaline typed a few buttons, and used the device to detect the substance that was inside the dishes. The device beeped, and typed out the word "Laxatives. Unknown properties, other than the fact that it was an herbal concoction."

"Somebody must have put laxatives in the ingredients." Rosaline said knowingly, trying not to let the audience see her shaking hands, as she played along with the plan. "The person who could have done this would be the only one that doesn't have laxatives in their dishes."

The participants whose dishes have not been taste-tested by the judges shuddered. Their dishes may have been filled with laxatives for all they know, as Rosaline approached their dishes with Phillip's device, and each of them came up with laxative positive. When she reached Cilan, however, Phillip deactivated the device, leaving Rosaline to frown.

"Phillip, can't you get a new battery for this one?" Rosaline grumbled, to the audience's amusement.

"Ok, let me change the batteries, but it'll take a while. For now, why don't we taste test the dish ourselves to see if there is any laxatives?" Phillip suggested.

"I'll do it." Pakura volunteered, as the audience gasped at the Princess' bravery. "If I get a stomach-ache, then there's laxatives. Otherwise, there isn't."

"They could really learn a lot from the Princess." A woman remarked. "She is the epitome of what a PAL Elite should be. Rosaline can learn a lot from her."

'There they go again.' Rosaline thought, somewhat bitter, but deep inside, she knew they were right. Meanwhile, Pakura approached Cilan's plate and said, "May I?" When Cilan nodded, she proceeded to take an empty plate and took a few bites worth of Cilan's dish.

The traitors were watching Pakura carefully.

"If she finds Cilan's dish to be exquisite, maybe she'll join us more often to taste his meals! And I can get to know her better." Max sighed, watching Pakura take the food.

"Max, she's testing for laxatives, not for the taste." May grumbled.

"She needs to accept we are meant to be together." Max said dismissively, watching Pakura chew on the food slowly, and swallow.

"Max, she's like a whole seven years older than you." Dawn reminded him.

"Love has no age." Max replied, and the others waited with bated breath to see if there were any laxatives. After a few minutes, Pakura shook her head.

"No, no laxatives." Pakura said, just as Phillip returned with the device, and detected the remaining dishes, which came out as laxative positive.

"What?" Cilan was shocked, as the others turned to him.

"So you're the one who put the laxatives." Rosaline concluded.

"No, I didn't!" Cilan protested. "I…"

"Don't worry, we got surveillance cameras. The footage would tell us everything we need to know." Phillip said calmly, as he signalled for the guards to go to the security room to retrieve the footage. Phillip connected the data to the laptop he brought along, and typed something in his keyboard, and his face got stonier as the footage played.

He connected his laptop to the screen behind him, and everyone gasped, while Cilan turned pale. The security footage clearly showed his face and outfit.

"But wait, really, that's not me!" Cilan cried. "I was with my friends, they can vouch for me."

"Your friends would probably cover for you, knowing the circumstances." Ash replied curtly, as guards came to take him away, while the public booed him and some even grabbed ingredients and threw them at him, much to Ash's glee. "In this region, evidence is everything. Remember you are not in your region anymore, Cilan."

He turned to Artemis, who was holding her stomach painfully. "I am very sorry for this inconvenience. I would make sure Cilan would be handled appropriately."

"Not at all." Artemis wheezed. "It looks like we need a break, before starting the contest all over again tonight. He would be disqualified for trying to take out the competition and poisoning us, as one of the judges is actually allergic to laxatives in general. Please alert Elite Jude of this matter, and get him to take his Pokémon Connoisseur license away. We would also be banning him from taking that S-Class Connoisseur Exam."

Ash nodded, as Artemis finally rushed for the nearest toilet. Pikachu and Lucario secretly shared a hi-five between them. Another target down.

'The judge is actually deathly allergic, and I bet Ash knows about this, but doesn't care about their lives when he planned the sabotage, as he just regarded them as sacrifices.' Pakura thought. 'He really took after me in that aspect. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry.'

* * *

Ash retrieved a file from his room. He had decided to give himself some downtime before going to Jude's fashion show. He opened a file, which contained various pictures and information, and all of them about the traitors. There was already a red X on May's and Dawn's faces, signalling the fact that he had already sabotaged them and subjected them to humiliation.

Of course, they won't know they were targeted and why, but he would try his hardest to get his revenge in the worst way possible, whatever the cost may be.

" **Who's next, Ash?"** Pikachu asked, as he watched Ash strike off Cilan's picture.

Ash pondered this question. Who should he go after next? Suddenly, he remembered about Pakura mentioning a Pokémon Beauty Contest that was going to be held. But that was in the Top 32, so he would have to wait. Iris? No, the Dragon Duo should beat her at her own game as the worst humiliation, and if only he could find them, perhaps he could enlist them as an ally against that group.

" **How about this one?"** Lucario pointed to Max's picture. **"He has an obsession with Pakura after all. You can use it against him."**

Ash stared at Max's picture for a long time, and replied, "Alright then, he'll be the next one."

 **BP: (Read below, it's important. Questions are underlined.)**

 **Ok, let me explain a few things the focus on Rosaline here. I know the way I write would make Rosaline look bad and everyone to hate her, but this is not the intention. The reason why I wrote this plot is because I want Rosaline herself to have a character development, and learn to stand up for herself and make sacrifices in order to become a true PAL Elite member.**

 **As Rosaline never experienced a loss, she had the tendency to underestimate danger. Unfortunately, Pakura gave her the third chance in hopes that she would be killed during the Hunter Exam, so she was forced to let her in when Rosaline had gotten her Hunter license and got into a department.**

 **In my opinion, Rosaline brings a nice change to the PAL Elites, since she doesn't have a dark psychology or whatever, but she needs to learn to understand people's feelings instead of being ignorant about it. Furthermore, she needs to learn that proving herself to be the very best to her childhood bullies is not what a PAL Elite position is all about, as being a PAL Elite means that they are the main protectors of the region, and she can't just bask in the fame, fortune and the authority she may have over the region (though, being the weakest, she would have the least authority).**

 **Yes, I admit she has a good heart and want to protect the Pokémon, it's just that she is more interested in her developing her psychic abilities. This is somewhat understandable as she knows that the others didn't really accept her, and she felt she needed to prove herself better than the Dragon Duo, who were their first choice in a Psychic specialist.**

 **While the other three were unhappy with this mindset, they understood that she never had a life changing experience. As her teammates, they decided to cover this matter up for her sake as well. In this chapter, the truth was unravelled and Rosaline would be forced to cope with this herself and prove her true worth, as her teammates cannot help her now.**

 **As Ash's personality is much darker in this fic, I made it so that he doesn't actually care if Rosaline lost her position or not, since it had nothing to do with him. He only cared about his Pokémon, the running region and protecting the Pokémon living in his region. Phillip is neutral to this, Jude hopes Rosaline can prove herself worthy, and Pakura is unknown.**

 **Mysterypink98, don't kill me (Rosaline is her OC)! Really I am happy you gave me Rosaline, don't let my writing fool you! It's for plot purposes, and I had to think up by myself, since you're not talking to me! I couldn't contact you, since your whatsapp profile is...anyway I think I am being blocked, so….*chuckle* Well, maybe you forgot about me, who knows.**

 **Perhaps she's avoiding me, or just wanted to concentrate on her JC life. Maybe she made new friends and forgot about me or something. I don't know anymore. It's been more than a month, and still nothing from her, so…yeah. I miss her.**

 **Anyway….There are a few story ideas that I might go through with once I finish PAL Chronicles and Dark Chronicles. Please take a look at them:**

 **Title of the story: Untitled as of now**

 **Summary: The last thing Ash and his Elites remember was being in a mission investigating a device that was smuggled in their region that apparently allows one to manifest and use abilities despite the fact that they don't have any aura, and being attacked by an army of people using the said device. So why did they wake up in another world, specifically in a world where they are apparently Defense Attorneys/Prosecutors/Detectives?**

 **Much to their distress, their Pokémon have turned into Plushies and their Key Stones are now useless. Not only that, they are separated from their team members, and their CommuniDexes are replaced with a high-tech watch, which meant they have no way of contacting one another. And why do those strange people living in that world claim to know them, some even saying they knew them for years? The five of them have to live their "lives" as they stand the courtroom for various cases, while hiding their powers from these ordinary people, and find their way home. (X-over with Ace Attorney)**

 **Questions:**

 **1\. I wonder which PAL Elites should be Defense Attorney, Prosecutors, and Detectives? (E.g: If you think Rosaline should be a Detective, just say "Rosaline should be a detective in this AA world").**

 **2\. Should the Elite Leader be known as Pakura Ameyuri or Amethyst Paradinight (her name in PAL Academy)?**

 **3\. Should we have pairings with AA characters? If yes, what pairing do you hope to see?**

 **4\. Any suggestions for the title of this story?**

 **Note: The PAL Elites in this future fic will be single and at least in their late twenties in order to match the AA timeline.**

 **(Seriously I need help with my Fanfiction Projects, mysterypink98 is too busy to even talk to me now….or she doesn't want to talk to me)**

 **Title of the story: Pokémon: Heartsong Symphony**

 **Summary: After finishing his travels with Kalos, Ash decided to travel to the PAL Region as recommended by Professor Oak. He had heard that the Pokémon League there was somewhat different from the regions he had travelled so far. When he reached there, he gains a travelling companion, who seemed to take an interest in him, and he/she may be keeping some secrets from him too. Whatever it is, Ash is in for a thrilling adventure with his new companion, and his companion would understand why Ash is the Chosen One.**

 **Question:**

 **In this fic, Ash will travel with one of the PAL Elite Four members (Would not be known to Ash until he takes the Elite challenge). Who do you vote as Ash's travelling companion? Note: Because the travelling companion is an Elite Four instead of a Gym Leader, I make up for it by putting one less travelling companion for him.**

 **Votes so far:**

 **Pakura: 4 votes**

 **Phillip: 1 vote**

 **Rosaline: 2 votes**

 **Jude: 1 vote**

 **It is supposed to be mysterypink98 who answers your questions, but since she started college, it looks like I would have to take over. If you have any questions, please PM me, review, or send me comments in my Deviantart account (I have a Journal post so just post comments on the questions you want answered). But, as a bonus, you can request I discuss a topic related to my Fanfiction Project so you can understand them better.**

 **My username in Deviantart is cutethings97. I would also post Journals on what story ideas I have for the PAL Series, besides using it to answer questions.**

 **Please comment on the pictures I have made there. I have no comments so far *sob*. Oh, and help out with the PAL Series Wikia too!**

 **Oh yeah. One more thing. For the resurrection fic, I know the title was "The Unlikeliest Second Chance at Life" but recently I had this thought to change the title to "Return of the Fallen" Do you think I should change or let the old title remain?**

 **Option A: Change to "Return of the Fallen"**

 **Option B: Nah, don't change. The title's fine.**

 **Anyway, do review this story!**


	8. The Paradinights, Giratina's Chosen

**BP: Thank you for all the reviews, favourites and follows! Yeah, I admit, Ash is a bit of an asshole. I had explained why in my latest Deviantart post, so please do check it out. I guess you can say it's because he spent too much time with Pakura. After all they had travelled the entire six regions together, and Ash even enlisted her as his guide in the PAL Region when he took on their Pokémon League.**

 **If you are wondering how things with mysterypink98 are, there are no changes. She even stopped following me so I doubt she is reading this anyway. She's probably busy with her studies, or so I have been telling myself since she didn't contact me on Sunday afternoon from late January onwards. And yes, she didn't contact me during the March holidays, which was a little disappointing.**

 **Maybe she'd give me a happy birthday wish when my birthday comes in a couple of days' time? I won't have high hopes though, since….yeah she's really busy.**

 **Just to clarify, mysterypink98 is the one that gives ideas that I can input on my story, and not the actual writing. I still write all these chapters by myself. So if anyone have any questions, please input in reviews or PM or comment on my Deviantart post so I can answer them. I will be posting my answers in my Deviantart Journals, so please check out my account.**

 **I also would like to clarify, Pakura is not based on me, no matter how it seems like. She is actually a revamped version of the Pakura in my very first story, and while I admit she's extremely talented and stuff, I'd never want to be in her shoes.**

 **Oh, so readers have been asking me Shiki's status. I'll give you all a clue: I wrote something crucial in Chapter 1. So it's left for you to interpret from there.**

Ash was sitting in the library again, researching on every single member of the Blackthorn City Dragon Clan. He was almost sure that the information that was wiped out was about the Dragon Prince himself. Perhaps the Dragon Prince had a relative that was alive somewhere, and he could track him or her down to get more information.

Ash was almost sure that some of the Clan members were not in Blackthorn at the time of the massacre, and the Dragon Princess didn't bother to hunt the others down one by one. Ash clicked on one of the profiles: Eris Paradinight (née Lestrange). A photo of a woman with grey eyes, long auburn hair, and a long hooked nose accompanied the profile. She wasn't exactly unattractive, but she was wearing an expression that is simultaneously cross and sullen that ruined her appearance.

Apparently, Eris Paradinight was the matriarch of the Paradinight family, with Geist being her husband, Mephisto being her eldest son and Charon her second son. Ash's fists clenched as he learnt that the Paradinight family had all worked for Giovanni before. There was an asterisk next to the Family section and as he hovered the mouse over it, he almost spat out his smoothie when the following message appeared: She had an unknown youngest daughter who was known as the Cursed Child of Blackthorn City, who went missing twenty-one years ago. Her whereabouts are currently unknown, and is presumed to have died.

So the Dragon Princess was a Paradinight. Perhaps she had an alias or something when she was crowned the Dragon Princess alongside the Dragon Prince.

The Cursed Child…didn't Lance mention it before the night they had arrived in their region? He said something about the Cursed Child getting revenge for what they did to her. Now he thought of it, the Dragon Princess did kill the Dragon Clan out of malice. But he knew she must have a motive behind.

"That's it!" Ash exclaimed as he suddenly had a new realization.

" **What is it, Ash?"** Pikachu asked.

"I think I know why the Dragon Princess would kill the Dragon Clan." Ash said, his eyes gleaming in triumph.

" **Really? Why?"** Lucario was curious.

"The Dragon Princess is getting her revenge for how they treated her when she was a child. More than 21 years ago, there was a child they had called the Cursed Child for some reason. I can safely say she was treated with cruelty or violence by her townspeople." Ash said.

He wondered if it was because she had powers which was why they thought she was cursed. But it couldn't be, because according to Arceus, aura users have been worshipped and believed to be the protectors of Pokémon. They were wrong. The Cursed Child was still alive.

" **Can't blame her, though."** Pikachu replied.

"But she went missing around 21 years ago, so she must have ran away or something." Ash frowned.

" **But if that is so, how did she survive? She won't last long in the outside world. She's only like a toddler when she went missing."** Pikachu pointed out.

"You're right, Pikachu." Ash looked thoughtful. However, the only way Ash could think of how the Dragon Princess could survive was if someone had taken care of her.

'Maybe the Dragon Prince found her and took care of her.' Ash thought. 'After all, we don't really know what their age gap is.' Ash looked at the photo of the Dragon Duo he had found once more. Due to the fringe hiding their eyes, he could only tell that both the members of the Dragon Duo had black hair.

Ash wondered what the Dragon Princess' Eevee had evolved into, as the Dragon Princess was carrying a smiling Eevee. As the photo was so old (it was taken after they had won the second Quarter Anniversary), surely her Eevee must have evolved by now.

'Maybe the Dragon Princess and I aren't any different. Both of us, abandoned by people we are supposed to trust, seeking revenge…nothing but a time where we were naïve children.' Ash thought, narrowing his eyes in anger.

He was no longer that boy, thanks to some people. He is now an actual Champion, and not only that, he is PAL's League Champion, and he also dethroned Pakura of her tiara (although he allowed her to keep her position) which meant he is the new leader of the region.

He would turn the agony they had placed upon him to righteous fury and use it as a blade to strike down the ones who had killed his mother and framed him, making him a wanted man in all the regions (except PAL, as nobody in the PAL Region actually believed he is a murderer).

Ash had the power to take them down now. But he decided to wait until the right time to take the next murderer and traitor down. He needed it to be humiliating. He sighed, and shook his head. With the plot to take them down and being assigned to the Dragon Duo disappearance case, the tournament is going to be one very busy time indeed.

'I guess I'll start with those old papers.' Ash groaned. With the newfound knowledge that the Dragon Princess was the Cursed Child, Ash decided to pour back issues on various newspapers to see if he could find some more information on the Paradinight daughter. Perhaps she had participated in a Pokémon Conference and won or something. Find all the female winners with black hair, and then eliminate the suspects.

* * *

When Pakura told Shiki about the sabotage during the cooking contest, he had laughed for fifteen minutes. He laughed so hard he nearly fell off the tree Pakura was sitting under. Her Sylveon was lying next to her, her ribbons wrapped around her arm. It wasn't tight enough to cut off circulation, but not loos enough to give way either. It was apparent she doesn't want to let her out of her sight.

" _Arceus, Ash seriously takes after you. His revenge is all humiliating, harms the psychology."_ Shiki remarked.

Pakura had not expected her fiancé to react in that way. In fact, she was hoping for some comforting words from him. Pakura kept quiet and when he sensed my displeasure, he lowered his voice and said, _"You don't think it's funny?"_ He took an apple from the braches, and munched on it, waiting for an answer.

Pakura looked thoughtful. "Ash was broken when I took him under my wing, and you know it, Shiki. The moment I realized this, I knew he would become the perfect Champion for our region, and took advantage of that fact and…you know what I mean."

" _You feel bad for moulding him to become a fierce and ruthless protector of the region, because you think he lost his old personality?"_ Shiki guessed. When Pakura nodded, Shiki shook his head. _"Please, Ash is still a good guy. He just hides it underneath that cold and tough exterior. He saves his good side for people like…say, Cynthia?"_

Pakura scowled at the Sinnoh Champion's name, though she knew it was true. "Still, I can count on Ash to do the right thing for the region, and the dilemma with his love life." Pakura said, forcing herself to keep calm. "He has morals after all, and a perfectly nice person when you get to know him better. It's just that he spent too much time with me. But…"

" _But?"_ Shiki prompted.

"I don't know, Shiki. Somehow, I know the way I raised him would backfire on me someday." She leant against the tree trunk, and looked up at Shiki.

" _You think too much, Paku."_ Shiki waved a hand dismissively.

"Am I?" Pakura wondered.

" _You did what you have to in order to put him back together."_ Shiki said firmly. _"But still, what are you going to do with Rosaline?"_ He decided to change the subject.

Pakura's eyebrows creased as she thought of the problem in their hands. Rosaline was still a smallish twenty-two-year-old girl who can't quite grasp the concept of how the region works. Raised as a princess. Undisciplined. Stubborn. Not a protector, but someone who needs to be looked after. The look that screamed she was ready for anything was simply an eager child that couldn't wait to play a game, not knowing the danger of the said game itself.

On the other hand, Pakura admitted privately that she already had aura abilities in the form of fire manipulation, which was a feat not many can achieve. Besides, when she let Jude in, he only had the ability to breathe underwater and some basic form of water manipulation, and only developed them further when he joined up.

Rosaline was something, as she was eventually able to prove herself to be able to overcome the odds against her. The odds were definitely not in her favour as she herself had given her three weeks to begin training and pass all the three exams needed to officially become a professional Hunter, since she had zero combat skills, and couldn't wield a weapon, hence she had to report for training, as recommended by Pakura.

Rosaline was funnelled into a class of beginners, which was a little insulting to her, until it was obvious they were in far better condition than she was, and most likely realized that Pakura and the others were all in a different, accelerated phase of training. But still, she quickly emerged to the top of the class, and proved herself to be able to kill viciously during the Hunter Exam itself.

However, Rosaline had one fatal flaw: Rosaline always hesitated when it comes to making a kill, which would be her downfall. Pakura knew Rosaline doesn't know that sacrifices are a part of life, and how they have to make them. All she knew was to complete her missions and for herself to stay alive in order to be able to keep her Elite position. She never got the fact that they were ready to put their lives on the line to protect the Pokémon and people of this region, whether from criminals or from danger.

"She'll have to deal with this herself." Pakura replied after a long pause. "None of us can help her now. No worries."

" _Then it should be fine,"_ Shiki replied. _"I so look forward to see how she performs from now on. After all, it's her against the majority."_

Pakura closed her eyes and nodded. "Well if she is able to prove herself, then she would be a perfect example to the locals that with the right determination, one still can be able to cope with responsibilities of the Elite life, and persevere through the backlash. However, if she can't, then that just proves she wasn't cut out to be an Elite member, and her resolve is cultivated from ignorance and sheer pride. In the latter case, she'll be removed. That's all."

" _That's true."_ Shiki nodded. _"By the way, someone's coming this way."_ As he finished the remark, a shadow fell over her. She opened her eyes to find a girl with red hair and matching eye colour grinning down at her. Pakura inwardly groaned as she recognized her as Aria, the current Kalos Queen and her partner judge for the upcoming Pokémon Showcase.

"Oh great, you're here." Pakura said in a bored voice. She didn't really want to deal with the ever bubbly Kalos Queen until the Regional Pokémon Showcase, where both of them would be the judges. However, it was apparent Aria was seeking her out.

"Come on." Aria replied cheerfully. "What did I say about making a gloomy face?"

"Must be nice to smile all the time without worry." Pakura said sarcastically, and inwardly sighed as she realized Shiki had went off somewhere. Sylveon opened her eyes and stood up, but didn't let the ribbons around her arm loosen.

"What happened to the joyous smile you liked to wear when you became the Kalos Queen?" Aria tilted her head curiously. "Everyone was always talking about how your smile was the cutest of them all. I loved your smiles back then as well."

'Probably because I lost everything.' Pakura thought, but outwardly, she merely shrugged and say, "Hey, you got the easy life, just defending your title against the most recent winner of the Master Class Tournament. Even back as Kalos Queen, I had to work much harder than you did to defend my title."

Back when Pakura was still a Performer in the Kalos region, there wasn't even a Title Match where the whoever reaches the Final Round of the Master Class Tournament would compete with the current Kalos Queen and must win in order to receive the said title. Pakura had to earn three Princess Keys all over again, while juggling her fame as Kalos Queen to qualify for the Master Class Tournament and win the said tournament all over again in order to be able to defend her title, which meant she had to defend her title against everyone competing in that Master Class Showcase. Unlike Aria, she also won the title without help, while Aria had the mentorship of Palermo, another former Kalos Queen.

Under some circumstances, she had to give up her Kalos Queen title. However, this gave her the opportunity to go for the PAL Duchess title, but by the time Aria became the Kalos Queen herself, they had developed the Title Match system which Aria can take advantage of to defend her Kalos Queen title just against one person- whoever that reaches the final round of the Master Class Tournament, as the current Kalos Queen would be assured of her spot in the final round. No questions asked. Probably took this idea from the PAL Region. Meanwhile, in PAL, Pakura was able to make use of it to easily defend her PAL Duchess title for nearly a decade, allowing her to be the longest reigning PAL Duchess.

Aria gave a sympathetic smile, as she knew how the Pokémon Showcases worked back then. Still, she admired Pakura very much as she was the youngest Kalos Queen, winning when she was only ten years old. Furthermore, Pakura was also a Legendary Coordinator, which helped a lot in her performances as a Pokémon Performer. In addition, she was an Elite Four member of the most prestigious region and one of the stronger members.

Aria had heard Pakura also had at least one other job outside of all these, and applauded her for being able to handle all those so well. She knew that had Pakura not given up the Kalos Queen title, she most likely won't be able to win the Title Match against her, seeing Pakura was much more of a veteran than she would ever be, although they were around the same age. Speaking of which, she had remembered the reason she came looking for Pakura.

"So, PAL Princess, huh?" Aria asked. "Were you ever going to share that little piece of info with me, or was I supposed to guess?" She had just learnt this fact when she heard locals talking about her, and calling her Princess Pakura.

When Aria had asked, the locals had kindly told her that their region was a principality, and Pakura was their current Princess, and she was leading the region alongside Champion Red, who is the regional Prince. That had shocked Aria greatly, as Pakura never mentioned this all those times they met for tea together and talk about the performances they had witnessed from their regional Pokémon Showcases.

"You never asked, and I don't see why you ought to know." Pakura yawned. "Besides, I'm not in the mood to talk now, so go away."

"Why don't you come shopping with me for a change of mood, and relax?" Aria offered, ignoring Pakura's last few words. "I've got plenty of time to myself before the Pokémon Showcase starts, so I thought I'd explore the shops and attractions your region has to offer, but it'd be boring going alone. Please?" Aria clasped her hands together as if begging her.

"No way. Shopping is troublesome. Besides, I still have Jude's fashion show to attend." Pakura muttered, yawning again.

"Oh, we can go to that show together!" Aria pulled her up, and pushed her towards a shop. "Come on, we have no time to waste!"

'I didn't even say yes.' Pakura thought, but she let herself be dragged by Aria.

* * *

Rosaline was in her room, thinking things out. The cooking contest had been postponed to tomorrow thanks to the sabotage. However, she wouldn't be attending the fashion show, that's for sure, because she needed the time to think through what her next step should be.

Nothing had gone to plan. The article had exposed her behaviour while applying for that last spot which was deemed inappropriate, and to make things worse, her Head of Department had called earlier to tell her she was off-duty until the matter settles down.

Rosaline didn't understand why this would happen. Through the years, she had thought everyone had accepted her as the latest Elite Four member, when they stopped talking about how the Dragon Duo would make a better Psychic specialist. Yet, the moment the article came out, it was clear she was still the second choice in their hearts just by looking at the expressions on their faces.

The looks on the faces of the other four when they were gathered around the newspaper that had contained the article was one of the worst experiences in her life. Phillip was pale with fear, probably for what would happen to his own Elite position, as Rosaline had basically brought all of them down with her when she forced them to give her two more chances. Ash was with a furrowed brow, probably to think of how to spin this. Jude had his head bowed in sympathy. And finally, Pakura had an unreadable expression on her face, having a hidden emotion she couldn't tell.

Pakura had advised her to think of the very reason why she is fighting for this Elite spot. It never really occurred to her why, as back then, all she knew was that she had to acquire it. No reason was needed, or important, or so she told herself. All she wanted was to develop her Pokémon battling skills to be the very best to prove her childhood bullies wrong, and she believed being an Elite Four would help make her that way.

It sucked to have to admit that that was the actual real reason why she chose to be an Elite Four member, and she had chosen this region because it was well-known to be prestigious, and they had one spot left anyway, so why not take advantage of the free spot? However, now her spot is at stake, thanks to her exposure of her behaviour towards the other three, which made the public think she thought she was above their rules. Rosaline needs to think up of a real reason to fight to keep her Elite spot, otherwise, she would be kicked out of the PAL Elite Four when the tournament ends.

Pakura was right in saying that one is stronger if they fight for others. Fighting for her own benefit would allow others to find a way- some vulnerable spot that she doesn't even know she has- to get her, and to snatch her spot from under her nose. And when that happens, she would be right back where she started.

Just then, the phone started to ring, and Rosaline hastily answered.

"Hello?" Rosaline said.

"Sis?" Rosaline smiled as she heard the familiar voice. It was Colette, her younger sister. She was apparently taking time off her Pokémon journey to visit her parents.

"Col! It's so great to hear from you." Rosaline was overjoyed.

"Yeah, about that. We were wondering when you'd come home to visit our parents." Colette said. "Our relatives are coming to visit us in a few days, and they said they'd like to see you."

Rosaline frowned, as she would have to fly commercially, and it would cost a lot to buy plane tickets at the last minute. Also, she was competing in the Pokémon World Championships, and her only break day was today.

"I'm really sorry Col, I can't take time off. It's a really busy time for all of us, since our region is the host region for the event of the year." Rosaline was sincerely apologetic. "I miss home badly as well. I would ask you to visit, but..."

"But the plane ticket's not cheap and it's inconvenient, yeah I heard that before." Colette let a slight accusation seep into her voice.

A sheen of sweat appeared around Rosaline's forehead as she tried to work around that remark. "You see…I'm sorry, I was busy." Rosaline said haltingly, knowing she had forgot about it. However, as far as she knew, all the flights were all booked, and she would have to wait a while before she can help her family book those tickets.

"Busy with what? Repairing your reputation? Look, sis, we all read the article, and we all know how they are treating you, especially Princess Pakura. Give up that Elite spot, and come home for once. We miss you." Colette pleaded.

"I…" Rosaline hesitated.

Colette must have sensed her hesitation, as she said, "Sis, why would you kiss up to those…people who did nothing but try to make your life miserable? Why did you even beg them to give you a chance? That spot isn't good enough for you, you can do so much better! And now your behaviour is exposed to the public, and everyone hates you now! I bet it was the Leader's fault."

"Oh, no, Col. It wasn't her fault." Rosaline said. "It was mine, since I was rude to them in the first place."

"Did she tell you that?" Colette hissed at her.

"Pakura didn't have to." Rosaline insisted.

"Didn't have to? Ever since you became an Elite Four member, you only visited us twice. Sometimes, you take so long to even reply to one message!" Colette sounded angry.

"Col." Rosaline sounded exasperated. "You know I've been busy. I had missions to complete and I also have my job as an artist and author, in addition to my Elite duties."

"Yeah, I know. You told me. You had a lot of excuses. We had to follow the news as to find out what you are up to. It's as if when you became world famous, you forgot about us, and the support we gave you!" Colette screamed.

"I deserve this!" Rosaline was getting agitated. Why can't her little sister be happy for her? "I worked hard to gain my spot in the PAL Elite Four, Col. I've put up with what they said about me when I grew up there, and it's about time I got to do something I want to do, and prove to them I am the best!" Rosaline then inwardly gasped as she realized what she had just said.

"Oh, so it's about proving yourself to be the very best now to those children?" Colette sneered. "Well, let me remind you, who is the one that lost to Jude and to Princess Pakura, and still had the guts to defy them, pathetically begging for another chance to prove yourself worthy? You changed, sis, and the article was right in saying you were acting like a spoilt child, thinking yourself to be above the rules. Our parents should have been more firm in stopping you to be one of the PAL Elite. You are no longer the sweet little girl that you promised our parents to remain, and neither are you the sister I look up to!" With that, she slammed the phone, leaving a dial tone behind.

Tears were streaming down Rosaline's face. Why did she give in to emotion and say what she didn't mean? It was clear to her she became overconfident and self-focused the moment she had wanted the PAL Elite spot, and in her arrogance she believed herself to have been accepted by the others once they stopped talking about the Dragon Duo being a better Psychic specialist. Now, it proved to be her undoing, as now everyone hates her, and even her strong relationship with her sister Colette was wavering, and Colette was the only one she was sure she loved.

She bawled like a baby at the thought, just as the elevator dinged, and Siebold stepped in, looking around for her. When he saw her crying again, he ran over to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, retrieving a handkerchief to mop up her tears. "What happened?"

Rosaline started talking of her conversation with her beloved sister Colette. She decided to begin with Colette inviting her to a reunion with her relatives and why she was forced to reject the invitation, how Colette pleaded with her to give up that spot and seek another path, saying she could do much better, and claimed she hasn't spent much time with them ever since she became an Elite Four and furthered her careers in the region, and how it escalated into an argument, with Rosaline snapping and saying something she shouldn't have, and Colette replying with a scathing remark before hanging up.

Siebold never interrupted. While she talked, he started to the kitchen to make some tea, and handed one cup to Rosaline once he was done. Rosaline clutched to the tea like it was a lifeline, and gulped down the tea, although it was hot.

"Well, you really made a mess of things." Siebold said. "But everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that we learn from them, and never repeat them."

"Col hates me now." Rosaline muttered.

"She doesn't hate you." Siebold corrected her. "She simply wished to protect you from further harm by telling you to give up your Elite spot. I am sure she thinks you are more than capable, but when she read the article, that was when she thought it was taking a toll on you. Colette was hurt that you couldn't take time off to see her, as she never saw you for a long time, and misses you a lot."

"I don't know what to do anymore." Rosaline looked down on the ground.

"You will in time." Siebold insisted. "After all, they can't forget the fact that you'll always love them. Besides, didn't you take it as your job to protect your little sister?"

Rosaline nodded. She already accepted that she may be killed in any moment in any mission. The region is dangerous, she didn't want her family to be caught up in this. What they knew about the region was only a small part, something she had learnt the hard way later. She didn't want them to know about what she does as a Hunter, as if they had known they would make her quit her positions, and leave the region, never to come back.

That was why she didn't want them to visit her, and find out the truth. Colette. She only needed to think of her and all her resolve disintegrates. It's her job as the older sister to protect her.

She had voiced her wish to protect Colette and her family in general to Siebold, and he nodded in approval.

Unknown to them, Pakura was listening to their conversation through her Paper Surveillance ability. She was waiting for Aria to come out of the changing room to show off, and decided to check on Rosaline.

"That's right, Rosaline. Perhaps you fight to keep the danger away from your family. As long as you are fighting, they will be safe. If you hold on to this belief, perhaps you could make the region safe for them to come see you." Pakura said. "Because, if you are gone, who else would protect them?"

* * *

"Please don't push!" Jin said, waving his arms to the large crowd who had gathered outside Jude's dressing room at the location of the fashion show. "Jude is not accepting any interviews or meetings today!"

"Wow, what a crowd. He's really popular." Aria said, as she and Pakura appeared carrying their shopping…ok, Aria's shopping. Pakura hadn't bought anything at all, and since she was too lazy to help Aria carry her stuff, she got her Gardevoir to do it.

"I don't see why you have to meet Jude up close." Pakura muttered. "You two don't have anything in common."

"Of course not, but it's always a good experience to meet up with someone who is an expert in something. I might learn a thing or two from him." Aria replied cheerfully.

"Whatever you say." Pakura shook her head, and approached the crowd.

"Let me in." Pakura said to Jin, and he nodded as he recognized Pakura. He was about to step aside to let her open the door when he saw Aria.

"Er….about her?" He started to ask, but he was cut off when she said, "She's with me." in a cold voice. She gave a glare to the crowd, who backed off, and opened the door to Jude's dressing room. Phillip and Ash were already there, sitting in various chairs, talking to each other.

"Yes, Elesa and Valerie are getting their makeup fixed next door. Once they are done, we can…" Jude trailed off as he saw Pakura. "Hey, Leader. Oh, you brought a guest?"

"More like she invited herself along." Pakura replied, glaring at Aria, who smiled sunnily back at her.

'Seriously, Aria, you're wearing me out with your enthusiasm, it's annoying.' Pakura thought, before saying, "Aria, meet my fellow Elite members, Jude, Phillip and our Champion Red."

"Pleasure to meet you." Jude waved, as Phillip gave a brief smile and Ash nodded in greeting.

"You don't get this lucky every day!" Aria's eyes were shining. "But aren't you missing one from your set?"

Jude was about to reply, but the door opened, and a somewhat gloomy Rosaline stepped in. Siebold was holding her hand in comfort.

"There's the last one." Phillip said. "Elite Rosaline."

"I doubt they would call me an Elite member after what happened." Rosaline sighed.

"I thought you weren't going to come." Ash remarked.

"I wasn't but Siebold convinced me. Said I have to support a friend." Rosaline mumbled.

"No, no, you can't make such a face. If you make a gloomy face, it'd stick to you and it'd never come off!" Aria immediately pounced on her.

"Huh?" Rosaline was puzzled. Who was this girl?

"Keep smiling." Aria went on. "That's the secret to become a cute girl!"

Rosaline gave a tentative smile at Aria's antics, and Aria replied with, "Yes, that's the spirit!"

"This is Kalos Queen Aria. She'll be the one to judge alongside me for the upcoming Pokémon Showcase." Pakura said dryly. "Elite Siebold should know her."

"I do. Great to see you, Kalos Queen Aria." Siebold gave a small bow.

"And you, Elite Siebold." Aria replied. "I learnt about Jude's fashion show from Pakura…oh, sorry, Princess Pakura." Here, Pakura glared at her. "So I thought I'd come along to watch. Maybe Elesa and Valerie would be wearing something I'd like to wear for a Pokémon Showcase."

The others nodded, just as the door burst open, and Jin was clutching to his neck. When Pakura went to check, there were bruises on his neck and scratches on his face.

"What happened?" Jude asked, concerned. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the others accosting Aria and Siebold to the next door room where Elesa and Valerie was.

"A rabid girl's out there, demanding to see you, as she had to talk to you about something important." Jin babbled, pointing towards the door. "I said you were not accepting any meetings with fans, but she said she knows you."

"Doesn't everyone?" Ash asked dryly.

"No, she said she knows you more personally. Claimed to be close to you." Jin replied. "I tried to stop her, but she got physical on me."

"And you can't attack a girl." Rosaline concluded, and Jin nodded.

"What a gentleman." Pakura said sarcastically. "How the heck do you kill female poachers like this in our region?"

As she finished this remark, a female shouted, "I can't wait outside like a peasant anymore!" The door was kicked open, revealing a girl around Jude's age. She had long strawberry blonde hair with deep blue eyes and a petite figure, and everyone had to admit this girl was rather pretty looking, and would probably attract a considerable amount of male attention. However, she was wearing slutty clothing that left nothing to the imagination. The girl was also clutching to an issue of _Pokémon Affairs_.

Jude gritted his teeth as he realized just who was standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here, Cafard?" Jude tried his best to keep his cool.

The girl pouted, trying to make herself look cute, but failed. "Jude, you know it's Lacey. I forgive you for running out on me all those years ago, and I allow you back in my life again."

She tried to approach Jude, but was held down by Ash's telekinesis. Jude was inwardly thankful for his friends.

"I certainly don't want you in my life." Jude sneered. "You used me for your own gain and then threw me under the bus all those years ago just to throw suspicion off yourself, and I'll never forgive you for that!"

"Jude, is she…?" Rosaline started, and Jude gave a curt nod.

"Hey, I came all the way here for you, and the least you could do is be grateful!" Lacey tried to keep her tone sweet, but was failing, as they heard the agitation. "I'm really sorry Jude, I realized my mistake." She widened her eyes to give off the innocent effect; however, no one was buying the poor-little-me act.

"I bet the reason you are saying this is because your family fortune has been spent, and your parents told you to marry someone rich. What is more, you have two illegitimate kids to take care of, right?" Ash pointed out. It was clear he had read her mind, and extracted the true information.

"That is not my business, is it?" Jude laughed, not in the nice way. "Karma is definitely a bitch. Seriously, I'm not going to take care of some illegitimate spawn of yours, since they're not conceived from me. Why don't you get your many boyfriends to help you, hmm?"

"Jude, you know that is because some of them dumped her as she cheated on them." Ash shook his head in disgust. "Others was because they are just as irresponsible as her, and did not want to admit the baby may be theirs when she found herself pregnant."

"I think he's too good for you now." Phillip said.

"No, I vowed to find him, and make him mine." Lacey stood her ground. "Besides, he's free for the taking since he's single. And we don't even need to try for a family, since I already have some." She smiled dreamily, which made Jude want to puke.

"I beg to differ." A female voice said. They all turned to see Elesa, who was wearing the first outfit of the modelling show- A stunning white top with a lace black skirt, complete with a hot pink jacket and white boots that nearly went up to her knees. Ash noted that her hair was totally different from what he had remembered back when he was travelling in Unova. Her hair was now black and is also much longer than her old style.

"Sorry, Jude is already taken." Elesa said to Lacey.

"You're a liar!" Lacey pointed to the beautiful Gym Leader. "Prove it!"

The others meanwhile were looking on amusedly when Elesa stepped in, watching the unfolding drama in entertainment.

All they were really missing was the popcorn.

"Very well." Elesa said, standing to face Jude. Jude gave a small nod, and Elesa grinned as he put his arm around her, dragged Elesa to him, and smashed his lips against hers. The others tried not to look surprised, as the two practically started making out in front of them just to prove themselves to Lacey. To make the performance more convincing, Elesa wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ahem." Ash coughed, and they broke apart.

"See, Cafard?" Jude sneered. "My life is so much better without you in it, seeing I live in a luxurious place, fun friends, a loyal girlfriend who is way prettier than you are I might add, and I made a big name for myself here. You were a misfortune in my life, and I got over you a long time ago. There is no way I'd dump Elesa for you."

Lacey spluttered, and gave a chilling smile. "Jude, if I cannot have you…." Much to everyone's surprise, she took out a knife. "Nobody can!"

Rosaline was about to intervene, but Pakura held an arm out, and shook her head. Lacey proceeded to charge towards them and raised her knife, when Jude shot out a hand, and grabbed her wrist tightly. Jude created a water bubble over Lacey's head, which lead her to choke and felt as if she was drowning.

Elesa was shocked at the fact that Jude had powers, and even more shocked when the others did not seem surprised or even fazed that Jude was killing someone. After a few minutes, Lacey fell to the ground, unmoving, and Jude removed the water bubble. He went over to check her pulse, before saying nonchalantly, "She's dead."

"We'll leave you two to talk." Pakura said, and gestured to the others to go to the other room. As the door closed, Jude sighed.

"Why did you suddenly enter the room? I told you not to." Jude shook his head. "Did you know those officers I killed all those years ago? It wasn't just a coincidence. I realized I really could manipulate water, so I fled. The Dragon Duo taught me to control my powers, in return for me to use my powers to help protect the region. The other four, they are just like me. That's why I wanted you to stay away." He gestured to the corpse in the room with them. "We are dangerous. I am dangerous."

Jude slumped down on his chair and cradled his head in his hands. "Just go, Elesa."

Instead of leaving, however, he heard Elesa draw up a chair, and sit down next to him.

"You know Jude." Elesa said quietly. "I always believed you are and always have been a good person. I believed, and knew there is always a reason behind your actions."

"I'm not the boy you met back then anymore, Elesa." Jude muttered.

"Of course you're not. But I believe you are still a person with good intentions." Elesa replied. "You know, when you left, I just wished day after day that we would meet again."

"Must have gotten a few laughs, considering how much our old colleagues would think we have a crush on each other." Jude said.

"Yeah, but they were wrong." Elesa answered.

"Obviously." Jude said dryly.

"I think….I realized I didn't just have a little crush on you." Elesa continued, looking at Jude. Jude noticed her eyes were the same colour blue as Siruis, the Dog Star. "I was in love with you. A lot in love with you. I didn't know how to handle it. I still don't, when we met again. I meant that kiss, you know. It wasn't a show to me…."

Jude looked at his old friend, remembering the times they spent together with other colleagues, where they made one another laugh with jokes (no matter how lame) or at each other's outfits they were supposed to model, going out for ice cream later or see the stars at night, telling their group of friends about their dreams.

Then when he started dating Lacey, sometimes he would spend time with her alone to ask for advice on dating. Whenever they part ways, Jude would sometimes watch her leave, as if he couldn't get enough of Elesa.

Elesa. He almost forgot about her when he left for the PAL region, never bothered contacting her, and felt the regret hitting him like a gunshot to the chest.

Arceus. He must be the stupidest guy on the entire planet.

"Did you really just say you are in love with me?" Jude asked Elesa.

Elesa bit her lip, and said, "I guess I did."

And that was when Jude kissed Elesa.

Unknown to him, somewhere in the studio, Pakura was using her ability to listen to their conversation.

'Looks like Elesa would need to fix her makeup again.' Pakura thought. 'If only if this would happen to me.'

Pakura thought she'd probably end up like the Little Mermaid in the original version. The man she loved ended up marrying someone else, breaking her heart. Thanks to her love, she wasn't able to kill him in order to extend her lifespan as a mermaid and ended up dead.

* * *

"There are definitely going to be press there. I am sure they are going to be people assigned to cover this event." Ash said, as all of them took the front row for the show.

"I know, alright. I saw Alexa and Viola with press passes for this event." Phillip replied. "One for a reporter and one for a photographer."

"Probably to cover the event for Lumiose Press." Pakura looked at the two sisters who were at the third row and five rows to their right.

"Must be their lucky break, bring assigned the story." Aria said. "Lots of reporters would swap their Pokémon just to be able to cover this story."

"Security's tight here, though." Siebold said. "Jude apparently doesn't like reporters hounding people."

"But I'm excited!" Rosaline commented. "Jude's modelling shows are always one of the most glamorous events. Although this time he is the host, not the runway models."

"He has a photo shoot modelling the latest fashion after this though, so it'd be published in the magazine tomorrow. He decided to use the runway for the ladies since there are more ladies clothing then men's." Phillip said.

"It'll be interesting, Unova's and Kalos' most famous models being in the show." Siebold remarked.

"By the way, aren't Paul, Gary and Tracey meeting you in the fashion show?" Pakura asked Ash. Ash was about to open his mouth to reply, but heard a voice saying, "We're right behind you."

Everyone turned, and sure enough, they were grinning at Ash, who shook his head. Tracey had his sketchbook out, probably going to draw inspiration from the fashion show. He had gotten to sketching people and scenery and even outfits during the five years. He was hoping to someday ask Rosaline for some pointers, but not right now, considering the article had dampened her mood.

Aria was chattering about the participants that had registered for the Pokémon Showcase to Pakura, but Pakura was only half-listening. Her attention was turned to Eevee, who had decided to let herself out of the Pokéball again, and lay on her lap, which was where her Skitty was, and a bit of chaos ensured as they fought for her lap space, until Pakura pulled them apart, and placed them on either side of her armrest.

" **Seriously?"** Sylveon muttered, just as Jude walked up onto the stage, microphone in hand.

"Welcome to the PAL's Modelling Show of the Year, hosted by none other than….me." He said in a joking tone, which made everyone laugh. "Anyway….we have Elesa, Leader of the Nimbasa Gym, and Valerie, Leader of the Laverre Gym, both who are also famous models. Or were, since Valerie doesn't do modelling much after she became Gym Leader." He shrugged, making the audience titter again. Jude always somehow make things humorous by his words and actions.

"Please welcome Leader Elesa and Leader Valerie, who would be showing off the latest trends in the PAL Region!" Jude stepped aside, as everyone cheered. The curtain opened to reveal Elesa in the outfit they had saw her in earlier, and walked down the runway. A spotlight followed her down as she moved.

"Pretty." Aria commented, as Elesa went back to the curtain, and it was now Valerie's turn to talk down the runway. She was wearing a black gown with a dark pink cloth that criss-crossed above her cleavage, and the dark pink cloth reached to the floor behind her. She was wearing diamond drop earrings, sparkly black heels (dark pink on the soles), and a pearl bracelet to match her outfit.

Everyone was admiring the beauty of the models, and some others were looking at Pakura, as if wondering why she wasn't on stage. Pakura glared back at them, making them squeak and turn their eyes on stage.

As Valerie returned to the curtain, Elesa came out again, this time in a Jaunted Jewels Gown, which was red, and inlaid with gold at most of the parts of the gown. She was wearing a gold necklace with complicated patterns on her neck, sort of what a Queen would wear to fancy banquets, and red high heels. The matching bracelet was made of black jewels.

"That dress has got to be heavy." Aria commented, though her eyes were shining at the beauty of Elesa.

"Yeah, it's made out of real gold silk." Pakura replied. "Phillip did invent a machine that could convert the gold we mine into real silk. Was paid millions for that."

Aria looked at Phillip in awe, and Phillip tilted his head to one side. "What can I say?" He replied. "I am full of ideas."

Valerie came out in a sky blue gown patterned with roses. Her pearl necklace was also shaped like a rose, and her bracelet was decorated with rose charms. There was even a rose in her hair.

"Hey, that's the gown Jin mentioned in my prep." Ash said. "He said Aquamarine designed it, it's the Roses in the Sky Gown."

"Sounds like the Cascading Rose Gown she made for me the last time." Pakura yawned. "Must have designed this dress specifically for formal dates." Just as she said this, Valerie came out in a caramel dress with a blue coat, which screamed casual. There was a belt around the waist of the dress, and the coat was as long as the dress itself. Valerie herself wore boots to go with the outfit, and a black handbag.

"So vintage." Aria remarked. "I'd love to wear all those outfits to a Pokémon Showcase!"

Elesa came out in a completely off the shoulder hot pink gown, and everyone noticed above the waist, the dress was had ivy patterns with, while the bottom half of the dress seemed to have two layers due to the different length of the hem.

" **These outfits are great for any occasion."** Pikachu remarked.

"For women." Ash replied. "The men's one would be published in the magazine, after Jude finishes his shoot."

"Why didn't they show the men's one?" Paul asked Ash from behind.

"Because Jude's hosting the event. How obnoxious can you get when you participate in your own event?" Ash asked, and Gary conceded he had a point, just as Valerie entered the spotlight wearing a dark blue formal gown with a sparkly silver line at the top and diagonally down to the left at the top half of the dress. The hem were ruffled all over the place.

Elesa then came out with a casual dark teal cotton dress with gold trimmings that was apparently inspired from Disney's Merida from Brave. However, the dress only reached to the knees, and it was short sleeved. To complete the outfit, Elesa was wearing dark brown boots, and a simple black choker.

She went back, and Valerie came out in a frilly white blouse and black skirt. She was also wearing a pink belt around the top of her skirt.

"I think it's going to be the last few outfits." Ash commented, and Pakura nodded, as she half-listened to Aria talking about getting Valerie's last outfit, while Viola was carried away taking pictures, and Alexa trying to write the details of the outfit in her notepad.

Elesa came out in a black buttoned up singlet, white jacket, and a white skirt. It was clear that it was an outfit meant for sports, as Elesa came out wearing sneakers as well. Everyone was admiring the fashionable Black & White Sporty Outfit, and everyone knew it was her last outfit, as she did not go back to the curtain.

Valerie then came out in a white sleeveless shirt with a necklace made of blue pearls and tight jeans. She was also wearing a brown belt to accessorize with her outfit, and they posed together, as everyone cheered. Jude came up on the stage, and said, "Thank you all for coming tonight. It meant a lot to me. Free refreshments are at the corner and I'll see you at the Pokémon World Championships...ok, we, because Elesa and Valerie are participating too." The two girls came up on either side of Jude, and bowed, before exiting the stage.

"That was a great show Jude put up. The accessories were just right too." Phillip said.

" **Yeah."** Lucario agreed.

* * *

Jude sighed, as now it was his turn to model the clothes. In the studio, it has been cleared and lit, ready for his photo shoot for next month's _PokéSTYLE,_ which would be published by tomorrow, if they can send the photos fast enough to the company. Elesa decided to stay back and watch, much to Jude's exasperation (and gratefulness). Aquamarine was having a fine time ordering everybody around, keeping all of them in schedule.

It's probably a good thing, as there are twenty outfits for him to try on, and each one of them also required its own accessories, shoes, jewellery (boys do wear jewellery), makeup, and lighting. There were outfits such as dark blue jacket with white dress shirt and tuxedo pants, jeans with casual dark green shirt with long grey sleeves, yellow shirt with long black pants complete with sturdy boots, and midnight blue suit decorated with star patterns, not those yellow stars, but the stars one may see in a sky.

The moment one shot has been approved, they automatically prepared for the next shot. Though Jude was used to it by now, he still felt like he was some play dough the children in a childcare may shape, and flatten, and make another shape again. Elesa managed to feed him bits of food and sips of tea when they worked on him, but by the time the shoot was done, he was starving and exhausted.

"Thanks for staying." Jude said, as he carried the bags of clothes he had modelled earlier. Usually, the modelling agency would let them keep whatever clothes they modelled.

"No problem." Elesa smiled, just as a big screen outside the Battle Arena turned on, and both of them turned to see an announcer sitting behind a desk, announcing the match-ups for the Top 128 had been decided. After that, the faces of the 128 players were shown on the screen, paired up with their opponents.

"Oh, my…" Jude said as he realized he was up against Valerie.

Elesa frowned as she was up against Cheren.

* * *

Just when Ash thought things were looking down, Paul had contacted him. He said he wanted to have dinner together at the Plaza with him, and Tracey and Gary would be coming along as well. The invitation also extended to Pakura for some reason, as if they knew she was with him while Paul called.

When Ash told her about the invitation, she shrugged, and decided to go with him. He had to admit, dinner was great, as they prattled on about the outfits at Jude's fashion show tonight, and he could input his own opinions as well.

Having spent time with Jude and Pakura, he had better knowledge in the fashion department. He knows how he looks on the outside reflects how he feels about himself on the inside.

If he dresses sloppily, such as not washing his hair (or combing it for the matter), wearing the same clothes he slept in or unfitting or out of style clothes…it just gives the people a message that he doesn't care about himself, and no one should are either. Everyone makes an effort because they want the others to have the impression they are worth knowing. Clothes doesn't have to be expensive as long as they look good in them…but then again, with their above average looks, anything would look good on them. The dinner was served in courses, and most of them were meat, though one was fish.

"After this, they are going to serve dessert." Gary said to Ash. "Yesterday, they served chocolate chip scones."

"I wonder why you opted out of the Tower rooms, though." Ash replied. "As the Viridian City Gym Leader, I thought you'd get a room there."

"I know, but I want to accompany Paul." Gary answered, and Paul shook his head, though Ash could tell this was his way of showing he's grateful.

"The announcement for the Top 128 is about to commence." Pakura interrupted beside him. As soon as she said it, Ash and the others looked up to the TV on the wall beside them.

"Wow, Ash, how lucky can you get?" Gary grinned, seeing Ash was up against Iris.

"Max is asking for another beating." Paul muttered, seeing Max's pic next to him.

"So is Trip." Gary added, seeing his pic next to Trip's.

Pakura frowned as she was up against Elite Drake, the Dragon Master. She was not that worried, though, as she has the type advantage. However, she wondered if they were trying to prank her by pitting her against a Dragon Master right off the bat.

Phillip would be going up against Erika, and Rosaline would be battling Falkner, and Pakura half listened as they started to insult the traitors, mostly for Ash's benefit, just as dessert was being served, which was a huge tower of chocolate. Halfway through, Pakura had to leave because she was going to prepare for the Second Round of the Interregional Contest.

However, what Pakura did not know is that they started to insult Cynthia when she left the Palm Court. That is when Ash put his foot down….or fork if you want to see it in the literal way.

"Don't talk about her that way!" Ash hissed.

"Ash, what is with you? She was the one who didn't hear you out." Paul gave him a funny look. "Threw you to the authorities for her own image."

"She only did it because she needs to retain her image." Ash rebutted. "I don't blame her."

"Oh yeah? Pakura risked her Princess title, her Elite Leader status, and her entire public image to cover your whereabouts for you, and she even got Phillip to forge the documents necessary to create a new identity for you: that of 'Red Satoshi'. So don't tell me she can't risk her public image out of love." Paul countered.

"She doesn't love me." Ash said, though his face was red.

"How would you know?" Gary snorted. "You are as dense as a rock." He was sure Pakura love him, or at least have a total crush on him. Sure, Cynthia loved him in the past, but the love is probably dead by now, and what she had for Ash is infatuation. In other words, a clash of Pakura's companion love against Cynthia's obsessive love.

"What are you trying to say?" Ash sighed.

"I'm trying to say, you shouldn't be a fool. Think for yourself for once. Ask yourself, do you really trust that people can change their mind-sets that easily? Do you know who the real enemy is? Do you know who you should place your trust in, and be assured that you won't have a knife in your back?" Paul said seriously.

"If you don't….you have to find out." Gary added grimly. Whatever it was, he hoped Ash would see the truth in front of him, before it's too late.

* * *

Meanwhile, after the Contest, Wallace had asked Pakura if she'd like to stay and have supper with him and Fantina, but Pakura, having spotted Johanna among the audience, said she had something to attend to. Wallace, being curious, decided to follow her, which she did not disagree, but told him to stay out of the way.

"Coordinator Johanna." Pakura started calling out as she got closer to her. Johanna was busy talking to a whole group of people- friends of hers, no doubt, and Pakura had to say her name two more times before she finally looked over and saw Pakura and Wallace.

"Princess Pakura, Champion Wallace." Johanna excused herself from her friends, and walked towards the two. "What brings you to approach me?"

"It's about your daughter, Dawn." Pakura said curtly, and Johanna's smile dropped.

"Oh…are you talking about the Appeals Round, where she showed herself off?" Johanna asked. "Because if you're upset, I can…"

"It's not about that." Pakura sighed. "It's about what your daughter did after that."

"What did she do?" Johanna asked, dreading the reply.

"You see, she didn't accept her not getting in the Battle Rounds, and thought her performance was one of the most refined." Wallace said before Pakura could even reply. "Dawn grabbed Pakura by her Mega Charm, and broke it when Pakura tried to walk away."

"Is that true?" Johanna gasped.

"And that is why I issue a challenge to you. A Contest Double Battle. If you win, I'll let your daughter off, and she doesn't need to pay for the fixing of my Mega Charm. If you lose, however, I expect double the price of fixing my Mega Charm, and in addition, you'll have to discipline your daughter." Pakura pointed to her.

"I accept." Johanna sighed, and Pakura lead her to the empty Contest battlefield. Once they got to their sides of the battlefield, Johanna sent out her Umbreon and Glameow, who got into battle stance. Pakura decided to send out her Glaceon and her Togekiss. The scoreboard activated with their pictures on it, and the point meter.

"Five minutes on the clock, battle begin!" Wallace announced, deciding to play the referee.

"You may have the first move." Pakura offered.

"Alright, Umbreon, Glameow, double Shadow Ball!" Johanna commanded. "Umbreon, use Psychic to power up the Shadow Balls!"

"Glaceon, Ice Shard. Togekiss, Fairy Wind." Pakura countered. "Togekiss, you use Psychic to power up the combination too." The Fairy Wind-Ice Shard combination was already fired before Umbreon and Glameow even fired their Shadow Balls. The combination, powered up with Psychic, managed to dissipate the Shadow Balls, and the combination went on to hit both Umbreon and Glameow.

'She's fast!' Johanna thought, watching herself lose points.

"Glameow, Fake Out!" Johanna called, when she heard Pakura call out for a Blizzard. Glameow nodded, and before Pakura knew what happened, Glameow was in Glaceon's face.

"Togekiss, Brick Break." Johanna realized Togekiss was already up in the air, and it swooped down on Glameow like a bomb dropped from a fighter plane during a war and executed the move. Glameow yelped in pain, and lost its Fake Out stance. Glaceon hopped onto Togekiss' back, and they started to fly up.

"Glaceon, use Hail." Pakura commanded, and Glaceon created thick clouds that pelted hail all over the battlefield. Johanna gasped as she realized Glaceon and Togekiss were appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

"Togekiss, Metronome. Glaceon, Ice Beam." Metronome turned out to be Moonblast, and Johanna saw it being fired at Umbreon at the last minute.

"Umbreon, Psychic!" Johanna called out, and Umbreon managed to stop the Moonblast from hitting it just in time. However, it was not prepared for the Ice Beam that Pakura had called out, but Glameow leapt in front of Umbreon to take the damage, freezing its front.

"Not bad." Pakura called out. "Those two do look out for each other."

"Umbreon, Glameow, use Attract. See if we can charm those two." Johanna commanded, winking.

"Double Hyper Voice." Pakura ordered. The Hyper Voice managed to stop the Attract hearts on their tracks and destroy them as well.

"Now, Glaceon, Swift. Togekiss, Signal Beam." The Signal Beam fused with the Swift stars, causing the stars to glow in a rainbow coloured aura, and leaving behind a rainbow trail as they flew towards Umbreon and Glameow.

"Umbreon and Glameow, let's dodge with a Quick Attack!" Johanna commanded.

"Oh yeah?" Togekiss, use Psychic.' Togekiss used Psychic on the fusion move to follow the two Pokémon as they dodged gracefully, and they were forced to change directions, causing them to be out of sync.

"Glaceon, use Yawn." Pakura called out, when she realized Umbreon's Quick Attack is causing it to change to Glaceon's direction. The Yawn bubble burst in Umbreon's face, and Umbreon began to feel sleepy.

Meanwhile, the earlier fusion move managed to get Glameow, and Glameow used its tail as a spring to regain balance. Pakura took advantage of this to ask Togekiss to use Sweet Kiss, which made Glameow confused.

'Well, so that means Glameow's ability isn't Own Tempo. Otherwise, Lovely Kiss wouldn't have worked.' Pakura thought, and said, "So, Top Coordinator Johanna, what would you do?"

'Oh my, I have been pushed into a corner. With my Umbreon on the verge of sleeping and my Glameow confused, the battle is already in her favour.' Johanna thought. 'No wonder she was labelled as a Legendary Coordinator, even more so than the Dr. Abby I had heard about. But, I can't give up yet, as a fellow Top Coordinator!'

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash was taking a walk, thinking of what Paul, Gary and Tracey had just said. Why would he need reminding? He had always known who he could trust. For starters, he could trust Professor Oak, and those three, for they had sided him when times got to their worst. He could probably trust his Elite members, for they empathized with him (except Rosaline, but still, she probably get the drift).

And then there's the Elite Leader Pakura, who was the one he could and would trust the most for she had took him in and even covered up for him so no one would track him down even though he barely knew her. But lately, she seemed to be keeping some secrets from him. Like her unknown fiancé, for instance.

However, can he trust Cynthia? He should, because he knew her more personally than most other trainers thanks to their interactions together. She was still the same when he met her again, passionate about her Pokémon, and having this strong and independent personality. When he saw her battle an unnamed trainer earlier, he knew she was still up for a good challenge, and wants to help other trainers grow and expand bonds with their own Pokémon.

Then a funny thing happened. This tiny part of his brain- the one who is unsure of Cynthia's motives- went: Oh, please. There's something about her that makes me think being chummy with her would ultimately get you a knife in the back.

Funnily enough, the voice in that part of his brain is in the form of a familiar female's.

'Why does that part of my brain always sound like Paku?' Ash wondered, just as he heard an explosion, and Ash turned his head in that direction and saw the Contest Hall. Curious, he decided to go investigate, and ran in to see two people standing on the battlefield, which was covered in smoke. He later realized it was Johanna, Dawn's mother and Pakura herself. When the smoke cleared, Glameow and Umbreon were shown with swirls in their eyes, and at the scoreboard, Johanna had lost almost all her points, and Pakura didn't lose any at all. There was still twenty-seven seconds left on the clock.

"Umbreon and Glameow are unable to battle!" Wallace announced. "Which means, the winner of this match is Elite Pakura!"

'Pakura made me look and feel like I've gotten rusty ever since I retired, although my skills are as sharp as ever.' Johanna thought, returning her Pokémon. 'Then again, my opponent is also an Elite Four member, so it was expected for her to mix in her battle experience to show off her beautiful moves.'

"You know what this means, Johanna." Pakura said tonelessly, after her victory is announced.

"Yes. I'm very sorry for her behaviour, and I would take appropriate action." Johanna replied.

"Please do, or else I'll have to take matters into my own hands. I don't want to do that." Pakura nodded, and noticed Ash watching them.

"Why did you challenge Dawn's mum?" Ash asked, bewildered.

"What? I'm calling in my payment for my Mega Charm." Pakura replied. "I was giving her mum a chance for me to let the matter go."

"Why her mum and not Dawn herself?" Ash enquired.

"Unlike Dawn, Johanna is an accomplished Pokémon Coordinator, having won the Ribbon Cup and the title of Top Coordinator after winning the Sinnoh Grand Festival when she was younger." Pakura replied, as they began their walk back to the Tower. "I figure she'd give a better fight."

"Were you disappointed?" Ash wanted to know.

"Maybe." Pakura admitted. "I mean, technically she has more experience than I do."

"Pfft, no one would be able to defeat you, unless they have a reaction time as excellent as yours." Ash tittered.

"Explains why I was defeated by you." Pakura said, referring to the time he took the Elite challenge and defeated her, and becoming their very first regional Champion.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." Ash shook his head. "You did put up a great fight. You did make me use all six of my Pokémon, and got me down to my last one."

"I was forced to relinquish the region leadership to you as well." Pakura sighed at the memory. "And then you made me keep the Princess title to rule together. Good argument you made back then, saying the Dragon Duo also ruled together. Speaking of which, how far are you in solving their case?"

"Well, I found out the Dragon Princess is a member of the Paradinight family." Ash mumbled, as they reached the Tower lobby elevators, and Ash stabbed the elevator button.

"The Paradinight family?" Pakura was puzzled. "Who's that?"

"A family in Blackthorn. All of them are dead, probably killed by the Dragon Princess or something." Ash answered, as the elevator door opened in front of them, and they entered, and Sylveon used her ribbon feeler to press the button to their floor, and they ascended upwards.

"Are you suggesting she killed her own family?" Pakura looked at Ash incredulously.

"Well, she's my prime suspect on the identity of the Cursed Child Lance had mentioned." Ash shrugged, as the elevator reached their floor, and they exited. "Unless you have other ideas."

"None at the moment, though if I do, I'd make sure you'd hear it." Pakura replied. "Well, Ash, see you tomorrow, we'll need the rest for our matches." With that, she closed her room door behind her.

Ash shook his head, as he took a hot shower, before dressing in his nightclothes. He checked his Pokéballs, and frowned as he realized he was missing one. Someone must have swiped it from his pocket during the chaos of the cooking contest or something. But how did he not notice it?

" **Something wrong, Ash?"** Pikachu finally spoke up.

"One of my Pokéballs is missing." Ash answered.

" **Which one?"** Lucario asked.

Ash used his aura to detect which Pokémon are in his current Pokéballs, and made a mental list of Pokémon he owned, and mentally ticking the check box he made up. Eventually, he opened his eyes and said, "Giratina's Pokéball is missing."

* * *

"He knows." The Dragon Princess said to her Espeon, as she deactivated her clairvoyance ability. "He knows my family name is Paradinight. Ash is a very clever person."

" **Small wonder why they assigned your disappearance case to him."** Espeon replied.

"Actually, there is something I have been wondering after today." The Dragon Princess said.

" **Shoot. Maybe I can help you."** Espeon offered.

"I feel strange, you know." The Dragon Princess admitted. "There was this voice in my head, telling me to steal this Pokéball. And I tried to resist, but…my mind went blank and the next thing I knew, I had this Pokéball in my pocket." She revealed a Cherish Ball in her hand. The Cherish Ball wiggled, and it suddenly opened to reveal Giratina.

The Dragon Princess gasped, before narrowing her eyes in anger, as she recognized it as the very same Pokémon that had granted her the power of Scarlet Anger, and ruined her life.

"So it was your voice I heard." The Dragon Princess gritted her teeth. "Giratina."

'Why that look?' Giratina communicated with her through telepathy. 'That Scarlet Anger indicates you're my Chosen.'

"Why did Arceus let you go with the Chosen One is a wonder to me." The Dragon Princess clenched her fists. "You've been ruining your previous Chosen's lives for generations, and this generation is no exception. How many people are going to die just to carry your technique?"

" **That's right!"** Espeon growled, as her other Dragon/Psychic Pokémon came out and glared at Giratina as well. **"How dare you force your own power on her?"**

'My power gives my Chosen the opportunity to vent the negative emotions they have in their hearts, instead of just drowning in them. You hold the heart of someone who is hurt so deeply, with a heart full of betrayal, despair, and sorrow, just like me…' The Dragon Princess felt herself lifted by Giratina with Psychic, and she was forced to look it in the eyes.

Espeon tried to fire a Shadow Ball towards Giratina, who retaliated with Energy Ball, and the explosion caused the Pokémon to try and stand their ground.

'You are the most brilliant user of my technique so far.' Giratina told the Dragon Princess, who whimpered. 'I'll let you live your normal life as your reward, but when your life expires, you're mine.'

"No…" The Dragon Princess whispered. "I don't want this!"

'Oh, it's already happened.' Giratina laughed. 'You're fated to be saddled with my technique forever.' Giratina used the tip of its wings to stroke the Dragon Princess' black hair, and letting her down gently. 'You know, when Death gets their hands on you, you'll be the Princess of the Distortion World. You can count on that. But for now…' Giratina trailed off and returned to its Cherish Ball, and the Dragon Princess unconsciously activated her Scarlet Anger, presumably from Giratina's influence.

'The problem is, the Scarlet Anger in a person can be activated by Giratina itself, as it was the one that created this ability. This ability amplifies the negative emotions as well, enough for the person to act on his or her own emotions, but not enough that they lose their logical thinking.' Espeon thought, watching as his trainer began to make plans for Rosaline, whom she hated the most for ruining what the Dragon Duo set out to create. 'I hope she'll find a way out of the Scarlet Anger someday.'

* * *

 _Ash found himself at a forest, where a girl, whose face was shadowed, was apparently on her way home. She was muttering something along the lines of "I'm late…" repeatedly, and looking up at the sky worriedly, as it was already night time, and the forest was deserted. Ash had a feeling she was being watched._

 _Sure enough, the girl seemed to have sensed something, and looked around, extremely alert. The girl started to look somewhat panicky, and sprinted off towards the edge of the forest, where she might be safe. However, she kept looking behind, as if she knows she was pursued._

" _I don't like the looks of this." The girl mumbled, and seemed to have sensed an attack, as she jumped, and a Shadow Ball his the spot where she had been earlier. She did a backflip, and landed on the forest clearing safely._

' _Nice reflexes.' A telepathic voice said, and Ash gasped as Giratina came into view._

" _And what do you exactly want from me?" The girl asked. Giratina did not answer, and before the girl could react, she was hit with an Aura Sphere. The girl stood her ground though, and managed to regenerate herself from the injury given to her. However, Giratina then used Psychic, immobilizing her._

" _Wait, what did I do to deserve this?" The girl tugged at her psychic bonds._

' _You look like the perfect candidate as my Chosen.' Giratina said quietly via telepathy. 'You have the heart of someone who have lost everything. However,I sense promise in you, and with my help, you can go far.'_

 _The girl must have known what it entails as Giratina's Chosen, for she struggled even more and shouted, "No, I don't want this!"_

' _Too late.' Giratina taunted. 'Once I set my eyes on you, you cannot run.' The girl was then knocked out, and Giratina approached the unconscious girl…._

Ash woke up, and realized he had dreamt of the latest user of the Scarlet Anger just before she was implanted with the dangerous power. So Giratina had created this Scarlet Anger technique. Ash pitied the girl for being targeted by Giratina, as she probably didn't deserve it.

Lord Arceus had mentioned he had banned Giratina from having any Chosen, but it seems Giratina is taking matters in its own hands and forcing the Chosen status to someone it was watching. He was also given Giratina in hopes he would be able to control its power, but someone had stolen its Cherish Ball.

Pakura was outside again, and sighed in exasperation when she saw Ash.

"Again?" Pakura asked, and Ash nodded. She got up to the kitchen, and came out a few minutes later with two cups of hot chocolate complete with whipped cream and caramel sauce. She handed Ash a cup, and he took it with thanks.

"What is it about this time?" Pakura said.

"The last person to be implanted with the Scarlet Anger. The one probably still in our region." Ash replied, drinking his hot chocolate, which was really delicious.

"So, what did you learn?" Pakura enquired.

"Giratina was the one that developed the technique, and forcibly implanted the power onto the people it'd like as its Chosen." Ash answered. "And tonight, I realized Giratina's Cherish Ball was stolen."

"I suspect Scarlet Anger's main function is the power to be possessed by Giratina itself and I am sure the users can convert individuals to be loyal to Giratina, transforming them into Agents of Giratina. I guess Giratina must have possessed its latest Chosen into stealing your Cherish Ball." Pakura shrugged.

"Do you think this Chosen would crush the Cherish Ball and release it?" Ash was worried.

"Highly unlikely. Giratina's a Legendary, and which trainer doesn't want one in their possession?" Pakura replied, and Ash conceded she had a point. "No, your best course is to find out who the user of the Scarlet Anger is. That way, you'd know who took your Giratina's Cherish Ball."

Ash nodded, before stifling a yawn.

"Alright, back to bed you go." said an undeceived Pakura.

"Goodnight, Paku." Ash replied, and Pakura nodded, making a shooing motion.

* * *

If Ash had felt ragged from last night's events, other people seem to be worse. When Ash and the others (sans Pakura, who was at the sitting room reading _The PAL Times_ ) sat down for breakfast Jude was actually knocking back his coffee and yawning. As far as Ash knows, Jude likes to sleep in when there is nothing on for him, but he was probably extremely tired from the photo shoot. It was unfortunate that he had a match in the morning as well.

Rosaline herself also looked somewhat weary, though it was because yesterday was pretty stressful for her, and it probably worn her out, especially the crying she did when the article came out. She looked somewhat upset about something, but when Jude asked, Rosaline waved it off, saying the article must have gotten to her, and it was nothing.

"Are you sure, Rosaline?" Pakura interrupted from the sitting room. "I am sure it wasn't nothing."

"What do you know, Leader?" Rosaline muttered.

Pakura smirked, as she folded her paper all carefully and laid it down on the table. Pakura always folded papers carefully, making the edges all neat, unlike Rosaline, who never does this. She usually crumpled the pages up and leaves them, out of order, on the living room couch or next to the toilet in their Plateau. This usually annoyed Pakura, since she would have to clean up after her, and is probably the reason why she locks Rosaline in the dungeons more times than Jude and Phillip combined.

"What do I know indeed?" Pakura put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "I do know for one your sister called and invited you to a reunion dinner, and when you declined, an argument ensured, and not only that, you had an outburst saying you deserve all you have right now, and all you wanted was to prove you're the very best to those bullies."

The other three rounded on Rosaline. "Is this true?" Phillip asked.

"I don't think it's any use lying, Rosaline." Ash added. "You're not the only psychic here."

Jude did not say anything, but the look in his eyes told her to just tell the truth.

"Yes." Rosaline replied meekly. "It's true."

"I think we have said this ample times, Rosaline. You spot is not to be used to prove you are the very best to those idiots. Being the very best means nothing if you only think of yourself and your own goals. And news flash: You do not deserve your spot with the way you have acted just to get your own way and have two more chances and the way you have acted in your outburst." Ash said coldly.

"Ash, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Jude asked, seeing Rosaline trying to keep back tears that had popped up in her eyes.

"Oh please." Phillip scoffed, before Ash could even reply. "Jude, even you tried to dissuade her to join, but she has to be so stubborn she just stood there like a moron, refusing to listen to our words. She has to think on whether she should kill an escaping target or not. I mean, which Hunter has to think that?"

"Enough. We won't get anywhere with helping Rosaline prove herself by arguing like this. It is up to her to do this from here out. No one can help her now, not even us." Ash interrupted, and they continued their breakfast in silence.

As they went to clean up the Pokémon's breakfast dishes in the living room, Pakura called Rosaline, who was on her way to follow her teammates. She turned, and Pakura said, "Rosaline, listen. If you want to protect the region and the Pokémon living here, yet keep your life to complete the mission successfully, you kill, you don't think."

Rosaline stayed silent, registering Pakura's words, but Pakura wasn't done talking.

"It's the thinking that gets you killed." Pakura finished.

Rosaline wondered what Pakura had meant, but Pakura already made her way to help them clear the dishes, and bring them to the kitchen chute where someone would collect them and clean them.

* * *

Ash had to separate from his Elites, as his match was scheduled to be the very first one. He went down a spiral staircase until he reached a door which he knew was the Launch Room, which was a chamber where trainers are lifted into the battlefield. It also serves as a preparation room, for them to prepare for battle.

However, the platform itself can only hold up to 200 kilograms, and their League Officials had no choice but to use the exit as entrance for tag battles thanks to some trainers who like to keep their Pokémon outside, and other trainers are on the wrong end of the weighing scale.

Ash accepted a glass of water from a machine, and took sips of it while waiting for the announcement to step onto the platform.

"I'm not going to underestimate Iris. She is a former Champion after all." Ash said to Pikachu and Lucario. "As a 'Dragon Master' I am very sure she is going to use Dragon-type Pokémon."

" **You think she'd use her Haxorus, the one we knew as an Axew?"** Lucario asked.

"Most likely. I think I know the perfect Pokémon to go against him." Ash grinned. "And also, perhaps I'd use my Dragon Pokémon against her, to humiliate her."

" **Go for it!"** Pikachu replied. **"I'll be cheering for you!"**

"Iris is not going to be let off easy." Ash said, a grim glint in his eye. "I'll inflict the same pain to them as they did me. Like Paku said, an eye for an eye."

" **You do that."** Lucario nodded, just as a pleasant female voice announced it was time for prepare to be launched into the battlefield. Ash walked over and stood on the platform with his Pokémon. A glass box was lowered around them, effectively trapping them at the platform. He felt the platform lift, and he was trapped in darkness.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's begin the Top 128 of the Pokémon World Championship!" Ken announced. "From now on, it would be a three-on-three single battles, and the fields would change randomly after each match. The first battle of Round One would be in the Icy Terrain." Here, the neutral battlefield went downwards, and it was replaced by a field entirely made out of ice.

"Please welcome out first competitors, Champion Red and former Champion Iris!" Ash could feel the platform pushing him out into the battlefield. On the other side was Iris, who was looking determined, though she paled at the field they were going to be fighting in.

"Scared, former Champion?" Ash grinned.

"Am not!" Iris shouted. "How dare you PAL Elites take my Champion position away? I earned that position fair and square."

"You were the one who is foolish enough to bet it over Rosaline's Key Stone and her information on Legendary Dragon Pokémon at the Champions Tournament." Ash replied calmly. The audience murmured in agreement of Ash, and Iris blushed in rage.

"I'll show you why I had the position of Unova Champion!" Iris took out her Pokéball.

"Very well." Ash said. "Shall we begin?"

"Go, Druddigon!" Iris chose the Cave Pokémon.

"Clefable, lend me your aura!" Ash sent out the Fairy Pokémon.

"Trainers from both sides ready?" Ash and Iris nodded in affirmation. "Then…battle begin!" Evan put his flags down to signal the start of the match.

"Druddigon, use Dragon Rage! End this!" Iris commanded.

Ash sighed, and shook his head, as the attack hit. Iris thought she got Clefable, but when the smoke cleared, Clefable was looking at Ash with a confused expression, completely unharmed.

"But how?" Iris was shocked.

"Champion Iris, you never been to Kalos, have you?" Ash asked. "Or paid attention to any of the League meetings?"

"No." Iris shook her head. "What does that got to do with why Dragon Rage didn't work?"

"In Kalos, they have introduced the Fairy-type, and reclassified some Pokémon to be Fairy-types. Fairy-type Pokémon are immune to Dragon-type moves." Ash explained.

Iris was embarrassed as the audience started laughing. She hadn't been paying attention in League meetings as she thought they were boring, and usually daydreamed about being the strongest Dragon Master in the world. The only thing she was interested in was meeting other cool people like the other Champions, and prattling to Champion Lance about Dragon-type Pokémon, and how they are doing.

"So, what would you do?" Ash was amused.

"I have other moves!" Iris declared. "Druddigon, use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge, and use Meteor Mash!" Ash commanded. Clefable gracefully jumped up, did a front flip, and landed in front of Druddigon, hitting it with Meteor Mash. Druddigon skidded backwards, and thanks to the ice, it ended up slipping outside the battlefield.

"Druddigon! Are you alright?" Iris asked. Druddigon nodded, and got back into the battlefield.

"Use Focus Blast!" Iris ordered. Ash yawned, and said, "Clefable, use Moonblast."

'A Fairy-type move?' Iris thought, as she watched Clefable form a pink orb, and shoot it to counter Focus Blast. Not only did it counter Focus Blast, it went on to hit Druddigon. Druddigon staggered at the damage it took from the Moonblast.

"Fire Punch, go!" Iris ordered.

"Counter with Ice Punch!" Ash said. The two moves clashed, and the two Pokémon fought for dominance. But Ash was not done.

"Drain Punch, other hand!" Ash grinned. Clefable used her other hand to hit Druddigon, and Druddigon had its energy drained and Clefable restored hers.

"Now, use Metronome." Metronome turned out to be Draco Meteor, and it started to fall all over the battlefield.

"Druddigon, quickly, use Shock Wave!" Iris panicked. Thankfully, the Shock Wave managed to destroy the Draco Meteor. However, Ash said, "Clefable, Sing." The song notes hit Druddigon, and it began falling asleep.

"Druddigon, wake up!" Iris shouted.

"No use, is it?" Ash sounded unconcerned. "Clefable, Dream Eater!" Clefable proceeded to drain Druddigon of its energy, recovering hers at the same time.

"Druddigon, I beg of you, please wake up!" Iris pleaded.

"I'll help you." Ash offered. Before Iris could refuse, Ash commanded Clefable to use Wake-Up Slap, which dealt double damage since Druddigon was sleeping. In the process, however, Druddigon woke up.

"Now, use Aerial Ace!" Iris commanded.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Ash countered. Clefable proceeded to release a bright light from her body, damaging Druddigon even further.

"Now, use Psychic to throw Druddigon up, and hit it with Disarming Voice!" Clefable nodded, and threw it up in the air, and released a beam of purple hearts in a loud voice.

"Druddigon, Flamethrower!" Iris called out, watching Druddigon take damage from the Disarming Voice.

"Shadow Ball!" The Flamethrower wasn't enough to hold back the Shadow Ball, and it hit Druddigon once more.

"Finish it, Clefable." Ash knew Druddigon was on its last legs, as he noticed the bruises it got during the battle. "Use Blizzard!"

Druddigon tried to keep itself standing as the powerful blizzard hit it, but Ash was not done, as he was heard shouting, "Use Moonblast, full power!"

Once Blizzard ended, the powerful pink orb hit Druddigon, sending it flying towards the wall behind it. Druddigon slid down with swirls in its eyes, badly injured.

"And the super-effective Fairy-type moves have finally taken its toll on Druddigon! What power this cute Clefable has emitted. Then again, it is one of Champion Red's Pokémon, so we expect nothing less." Ken commented in the mic.

"Druddigon is unable to battle! Trainer Iris, please send out your next Pokémon!" The medics sighed, and came out to the battlefield again, taking Druddigon to the Emergency Ward.

Iris glared at Ash. He may be handsome, true, but he's such a jerk, sending their Pokémon to the Emergency Ward without any reason at all.

As if he read her mind (which he probably did), Ash said, "On the contrary, there is a reason why I am doing this."

"Then tell me why." Iris demanded. "Tell us so we can all understand."

"So eager to know my secrets, Iris?" Ash taunted. "Don't worry, in time you will know. But for now, we battle."

"Go, Dragonite!" Iris decided to send out the pseudo-Legendary.

'As hostile as ever.' Ash thought, looking at the Dragonite. "Alright, Clefable, good job." He returned his Clefable, and decided to send out Snorlax, much to everyone's confusion, as Snorlax is way slower than Dragonite.

"Battle begin!" Evan announced.

"You may have the first move." Ash offered.

"Dragonite, let's start things off with Aerial Ace!" Iris commanded. "Since Snorlax is much slower, it won't be able to dodge!"

Ash sighed, but did not say anything, and let the Aerial Ace hit Snorlax's stomach. Snorlax didn't seem fazed, scratching the part where he was hit with annoyance, as Dragonite bounced back slightly.

"Use Flamethrower!" Iris called out.

"Dodge!" Ash countered. Snorlax tilted his head, and the Flamethrower wheezed past.

"Thunder Punch, go!" Iris ordered.

"Catch it!" Ash told Snorlax, as Dragonite charged towards it, using its wings as the battlefield was quite slippery. The next thing everyone knew, Draognite was immobilized, and they realized a smiling Snorlax had his arm around Dragonite, effectively stopping his movements.

"No way!" Iris gasped. How is Snorlax able to catch Dragonite?

"Throw it up, and use Psychic!" Ash smirked, and Snorlax threw Dragonite, who was so stunned he didn't use his wings to steady itself before Psychic hit.

"Use Ice Beam. Aim for the wings!" Ash commanded. Snorlax nodded, and fired an Ice Beam that actually diverged, and froze Dragonite's wings, causing Dragonite to fall towards the ground when Snorlax released his Psychic.

'Darn it, Dragonite can't use Steel Wing.' Iris thought. "Dragonite, we can win this even of you are grounded." She shouted in encouragement. "Let's use Focus Blast!"

"Destroy it with Ice Punch!" Ash retaliated. The Ice Punch managed to dissipate the Focus Blast, and Ash called out for a Thunderbolt, which his Dragonite, causing him to grit its teeth in pain, and slip slightly. Before Iris could react, Ash commanded Snorlax to use Metronome. Metronome turned out to be Trick Room, much to Ash's delight.

"The tables have turned, Iris." Ash grinned.

"Dragonite, use Dragon Rush!" Iris ordered.

"Dodge, and use Heavy Slam!" Ash said, nodding to Snorlax. Due to Trick Room, Snorlax's speed increased drastically, and he was able to dodge the Dragon Rush easily. Snorlax proceeded to use Heavy Slam, slamming Dragonite to the ground, and he grunted in pain.

"Dragonite!" Iris got distressed as she felt Dragonite's pain.

Meanwhile, in the VIP Box, Pakura was watching the match with an impassive expression.

'It seems to me Iris has the ability to read the hearts and memories of Dragon Pokémon, and feel their pain. However, her proficiency only lies in the Dragon type, while the Dragon Duo's ability is well known to extend to all of the other types as well, not just Dragon-types. What is more, it seems she needs to really concentrate, while the Dragon Duo don't need to. This is what makes them superior to the other Dragon Masters.' Pakura thought, watching Dragonite being pulverized by Ash's Snorlax.

"Use Metronome once more!" Ash called out. Metronome turned out to be Aerial Ace.

"I shall meet you head-on. Dragon Rush!" Iris countered. The two attacks met, and an explosion knocked both of them off their feet. Snorlax managed to regain his balance, and Ash called out for a Giga Impact on a still getting up Dragonite. The Giga Impact slammed Dragonite against the battlefield ground, sending chips of ice from the battlefield flying.

"Dragonite, are you alright?" Iris asked, and Dragonite nodded, though he was struggling to get up from the attack.

"How persistent." Ash waited for a few minutes, before saying, "Snorlax. End this. Blizzard, followed by Icy Wind!" The two attacks mixed in together, and Dragonite took full brunt of the combination attack. Dragonite held on for only ten seconds before finally fainting, but Ash held the attack for one more minutes before letting Dragonite go.

"Dragonite is unable to battle! Trainer Iris, your last Pokémon, please!" Iris watched in distress as the medics came to get Dragonite, and she said to Ash, "You really forced my hand this time. This is my strongest Pokémon."

"Bring it, little girl." Ash yawned, and Iris was ticked off at being called that.

"Go, Haxorus!" Iris sent out the final form of Axew.

" **It's him."** Pikachu whispered.

"Scrafty, lend me your aura!" Ash sent out the Hoodlum Pokémon. Scrafty appeared on the battlefield, and glared at Haxorus, knowing it was the former Axew friend he had.

Haxorus gulped, wondering if he was the same Scrafty he had been best friends with as a Scraggy.

" **Is that you, Scrafty?"** Haxorus asked.

Scrafty stayed silent, before saying, **"I don't think I met you before, Haxorus."**

'No, it can't be!' Haxorus thought. 'He has to be the same Scraggy back then, he has the same vibe about him, why are we facing each other as enemies?'

Ash must have sensed Haxorus' emotions, for he said via telepathy, 'Haxorus, he is not the only one who owns a Scrafty.'

'How did you know about him?' Haxorus pleaded, but Ash ignored him. Iris did not seem to notice the silent interaction.

"Battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Haxorus, use Dragon Rage!" Iris commanded. However, Haxorus seemed reluctant, but fired the move anyway.

"Scrafty, duck and use Low Sweep!" Ash ordered. Scrafty nodded, and lowered his head while charging towards Haxorus. He then aimed the Low Sweep at one of Haxorus' legs. Haxorus knelt on one knee in pain.

"Now, use Dragon Claw!" Ash wouldn't let Iris retaliate. The super effective move sent Haxorus skidding backwards (due to the slippery battlefield).

"Haxorus, use Shadow Claw!" Iris shouted.

"Use Grass Knot." Ash countered. The Grass Knot tripped Haxorus, and due to its heavy weight, it sustained quite a lot of damage, since the damage of Grass Knot is dependent on the weight of the target.

"Now, Dual Chop!" Ash wouldn't let up on his attacks. Scrafty loomed over Haxorus, and executed a powerful Dual Chop on Haxorus' back, causing it to grunt in pain.

"Haxorus, Dragon Pulse!" Iris knew she had to attack or else she'd lose.

"Counter with Poison Jab!" Ash ordered. Scrafty nodded, and met the Dragon Pulse with Poison Jab, but Iris took this chance to tell Haxorus to use Focus Blast. Scrafty looked into Ash's eyes and Ash nodded. Without Ash commanding, Scrafty jumped to avoid the Focus Blast.

"What the? You didn't even say anything!" Iris cried out.

"Sometimes, we don't have to." Ash replied calmly. "If your bond is strong enough, you can send a message to your Pokémon through mere eye contact. Unless you are saying you can't?"

"My bond with Haxorus is one of the strongest bonds! Haxorus, show them by using Draco Meteor!"

"Iron Defense." Ash commanded. With Iron Defense, the orbs that rained down on Scrafty bounced off harmlessly. When Draco Meteor ended, Ash took advantage of Iris' surprise to command a Drain Punch, which recovered Scafty's energy at Haxorus' expense.

"Dragon Tail!" Iris called out.

"Iron Tail, followed by Ice Punch!" Ash countered. The Iron Tail overpowered Dragon Tail, and Scarfty got a good hit on Haxorus' head with Ice Punch. The Ice Punch also froze Haxorus in the process.

"Haxorus!" Iris cried.

"Your Pokémon has high endurance, I admit." Ash sighed. "Too bad it won't last much longer. Scrafty, break the ice using Brick Break, and fire with your most powerful Dragon Pulse!" The ice was easily broken, but however, it also dealt damage to the freed Haxorus. Scrafty wasn't done, though, as it fired a full power Dragon Pulse in Haxorus' face, forcing Iris to watch Haxorus fall against the attack. As he fell, Ash ordered a Dark Pulse, sending it flying, and he fell with swirls in his eyes.

'I don't want to be pitted against Champion Red.' Everyone in the VIP Box (except the PAL Elites) thought.

"Haxorus is unable to battle! Which means, the winner of this match is Champion Red!" The medics came in, and automatically wheeled Haxorus to the Emergency Ward.

Ash returned to the VIP Box to find himself surrounded by everyone who was babbling out praise to him for a great battle. He nodded to Pakura, who made her way out, as her match was next.

Pakura sighed, as she made her way to the Launch Room, when she saw Aria at the lobby of the Battle Arena. Aria saw her, and beamed, before saying, "There's the star!"

"What are you doing here?" Pakura sighed, as Aria gave her a smile that suggested she was her best friend in the world.

"I'm here to watch the battles, of course!" Aria told her like it was obvious. "I really can't wait to see how you battle one-on-one. I might drop by the Regional Pokémon Contest as well later today. Maybe I can pick up some pointers for my performance."

"Er…right." Pakura said. "Is that all?"

"Oh no!" Aria was surprised. "My mentor came to this region on purpose to watch the Pokémon Showcase as well. If you don't mind, I'd like to have lunch together sometime and bring her along so she could meet you in person."

"You know my schedule is packed, right?" Pakura answered dryly.

"Yes, I do, but really, couldn't you make time?" Aria pleaded.

"I'll try." Pakura muttered, knowing she had to end the discussion now as it is probably almost time for her to step on the platform. "Now can I go? I have a match to go."

"Good luck!" Aria waved, as Pakura reluctantly waved back and made her way to the Launch Room. She got there just as the female voice said it was time for her to get on the battlefield.

"The second match of the Top 128 would now commence. This time, the battle would take place in a Rocky Terrain." Here, the ice battlefield went downwards, and was replaced with a battlefield full of rocks. "And our two competitors are Elite Drake and Elite Pakura!" The two players were lifted into the arena, though Pakura had her Sylveon and Skitty by her side.

"Statistics wise, Elite Pakura has the advantage, as her type specialties are those that Dragon-type Pokémon are weak to. She is also well-known to never to lose to any Dragon-type Pokémon. Would Elite Drake break her winning streak, or would he fall like many others to the Dragon Slayer? Let's find out right here, right now!" Ken hollered, and everyone cheered.

'Show him what you've got, Paku.' Ash thought, smirking.

"Alright, trainers, please send out your first Pokémon!" Evan ordered.

"Flygon, I choose you!"

"Let's go, Slurpuff!" Pakura sent out the Meringue Pokémon.

"Trainers on both sides ready?" Evan asked the two, and they nodded. "Then…let the battle begin!"

 **BP: Ok, so let me explain a few things, especially about Scarlet Anger. I actually got the inspiration of developing Scarlet Anger when I read about the Satanic Conversion in Misfits, and how they convert others to Satanism. Don't be fooled, I don't hate Giratina, but it is closest to the equivalent of a Devil (like how Arceus is the closest to being a God), so I chose Giratina to have developed the technique itself, and give it to his Chosens. However, because of this ability, Arceus probably banned it from having a Chosen, but you know, perhaps Giratina acted in secret and forced it upon those it thinks is worthy of the power, who knows?**

 **The Scarlet Anger does not induce hatred, it emphasizes on them when the user activates it. Enough to make the person take action against the target of the hate, but not enough to lose one's rationale thoughts, which the user can take advantage of to calmly make their plans.**

 **So, I heard Sun & Moon is the Generation VII of the Pokémon series. I don't know if I should continue with Heartsong Symphony after Ash has finished Kalos (I was actually waiting for that), or I should start the story before Ash officially finishes Kalos and write it my own way. Since there is a new region to worry about if I don't write Heartsong Symphony before Ash finishes travelling in Kalos.**

 **So speaking of which, if I wrote the story before Ash takes on the Kalso League, what placing should I give Ash in this before he goes to the PAL Region (like semi-finals, or finals but lost, or won). Should I somehow write about Ash finishing his exploration of this mysterious new region when I write this fanfic? Or just go on to after Kalos? Do you think I should put the new Pokémon found in this new region into PAL so it'd look like as if it came from there? What do you think? Do tell me in the reviews, because these questions are flowing into my head like crazy and I can't decide!**

 **Oh, before I forget, here's the poll for the travelling companion in Heartsong Symphony:**

 **Pakura: 9 votes**

 **Phillip: 4 votes**

 **Rosaline: 4 votes**

 **Jude: 3 votes**

 **Looks like Pakura is still in the lead. Personally, if I were to vote, my vote would actually go to Pakura, because for one, she can cook, so the meals would be covered in the travels. Second reason is because she would have a goal like any other female travelling companion- to become PAL Duchess (She isn't PAL Duchess yet as at that time, her fiancé died pretty recently), but the choice is up to my readers. Anyway, please continue voting!**

 **P.S: When do you suggest I close this poll?**

 **Check out my Deviantart account for pictures I had made that I would post once in a while, and if you have any questions related to my PAL Fanfiction Project, please ask via PM or review or comment on my Devianart posts, and I'll answer in my next Deviantart post.**

 **I'll try my best with the PAL Series Wikia, but do help out though, so it doesn't collect dust.**

 **Do favourite, follow and review!**


	9. The Letter, Until her 25th birthday

**BP: Ok, school is starting soon, which means I may not be able to update at the same pace, not when mysterypink98 is not helping me anymore. Speaking of her, she didn't wish me a happy birthday when my birthday came. I admit I was disappointed, because I was hoping for a text or something, to know that she still remembered and I wasn't forgotten.**

 **Ok, so there is some flamer called A smart person in the PAL Chronicles. Like I said, I haven't updated my Fanfiction profile for like four years already. They don't even know me so who does this person think they are, trying to judge me by what I wrote like four years ago? So A smart person says if they don't see the review in several days, it proves to them that I can't take criticism. Constructive criticism has advice. That I can take.**

 **What I can't take is people pointing out mistakes without suggestions for improvement. Seriously, all those type of people know is to complain, like this whiner that I shared Chinese class with in high school. If they only know how to criticize a story without any advice, I suggest they quiet exit the story and look for other stories they like to read. I still stand on the fact that A smart person is a coward, not using a penname, instead commenting as a guest.**

 **Believe me. I created Pakura so readers would hate her because of her attitude. She isn't supposed to be liked, but for some reason, she became a favourite character for some readers. Don't ask me why. I revamped her from a character from my first story, and added some antagonist characteristics, personality problem, and questionable morals and mental state. I was going to kill her off in the end as well, during the early makings of the story.**

 **Seriously, for someone who claims to be smart, they aren't smart at all. On the contrary, they jump to conclusions without thinking, and it's a stupid thing to do. I can take criticism, but seriously, who would want to take criticism from this "A smart person"? And why do I delete reviews? It's because my family and friends advise me to. Is this person saying I shouldn't take their advice?**

 **Ok, a lot of you may hate me for saying what I said, but PM me and tell me that no need to shout to the other readers. Your problem is with me, not them.**

 **Anyway, onward with the story.**

'I better make the first move.' Drake thought. "Flygon, start things off with Steel Wing!"

Pakura watched impassively, as Flygon flew towards her Slurpuff with its wings glowing white. At the last second however, she said, "Psychic." Her Slurpuff's eyes glowed, and Flygon stopped in its tracks.

"Now, Fairy Wind." Slurpuff nodded, and sent a powerful gust of wind that sent Flygon backwards, and Slurpuff released the Psychic, making Flygon drop to the ground. However, Flygon got up again, shaking its head, though Pakura expected it, as Drake was an Elite Four member. There was no way he would go down easily, but not if Pakura had anything to say about it.

"Use Flamethrower!" Drake commanded.

"Energy Ball." Pakura countered. The Energy Ball clashed with Flamethrower, and surprisingly pushed Flamethrower back, until it hit Flygon. Flygon righted itself, and went back to battle stance.

"Use Cotton Spore." Pakura ordered, and Slurpuff opened her mouth and a huge amount of cotton shot out of her mouth towards Flygon.

"Dodge it, Flygon!" Drake cried, but Pakura was prepared, as she said, "Push Flygon to the Cotton Spore using Psychic." Flygon found itself struggling to move as it was now engulfed in the Cotton Spore.

"Flygon, use Steel Wing, followed by Sandstorm!" Pakura's expression did not change when she watched the Steel Wing cut through the Cotton Spore, and the Sandstorm concealing Flygon's presence easily, as it was "The Desert Spirit".

"Slurpuff, close your eyes." Pakura commanded, and Slurpuff obeyed, trusting her owner.

Pakura made use of her aura to pinpoint Flygon's location, and said, "Fairy Wind, forty-five degrees to the right."

Slurpuff nodded, and fired at the spot Pakura commanded her to, and Flygon was knocked out of the sandstorm, and Drake was wondering how she knew, as he couldn't see a thing once the sandstorm started.

"Flygon, Fire Blas-" Drake started, but was cut off when Pakura said, "Slurpuff, Rain Dance."

Flygon fired the Fire Blast just as the Rain Dance started, which meant the Fire Blast was much weaker than usual.

* * *

"Pakura really got him good." Lance commented, looking at the battle. "She already landed a few clean hits, and Drake couldn't even get his Flygon to land on single hit on her Slurpuff."

'Paku has the ability to read lips. The moment Drake opens his mouth, she can predict what he is about to say, and react instantly.' Ash thought. 'You'll have to be faster than her if you ever want a chance to land a hit on her Pokémon.'

"A real Dragon Slayer, if I do say so myself." Alder leant back. "Not like some wannabe Dragon Busters I heard about from Iris."

'Oh please, even I know that if Iris were to go up against the Dragon Duo, she'd lose. Horribly.' Ash rolled his eyes, just as Slurpuff used Light Screen to shield herself from a Solar Beam Flygon has fired, which was powered up with Sunny Day.

"Slurpuff, Thunderbolt." Pakura commanded.

"Are you crazy?" Drake gave her a funny look. "Flygon is part Ground. It's immune."

"I know that." Pakura nodded. "But who said I'm aiming for your Flygon?"

"What?" Drake was shocked, as the Thunderbolt hit the ground in front of Flygon, causing smoke to cover Flygon's vision. Drake covered his eyes so to let the smoke get into his eyes.

"Now, use Attract." The hearts suddenly appeared, and entered Flygon. Flygon turned out to be male, as he fell in love with Slurpuff.

"Draining Kiss." Pakura ordered, and Slurpuff walked over to Flygon, and gave him a big kiss, which absorbed a lot of his energy and recovering hers.

"Finish it with Psychic. Make use of those rocks." Slurpuff used Psychic to break the rocks away from the ground, and hurled it at Flygon, and the rocks hit Flygon like bullets. That did the trick, and Flygon fainted, unable to battle.

'What power.' Drake thought. 'She's at a whole new level. I didn't know you can fight like that. Reminds me of something, but what?'

"Flygon is unable to battle! Elite Drake, please send out your next Pokémon."

"Dragalge, I choose you!" Drake sent out the Poison/Dragon type, giving him a slight edge over Slurpuff, who is a Fairy type.

"Good choice." Pakura nodded in approval, as Evan said, "Let the battle begin!"

* * *

Ash watched as Dragalge fired Toxic after Toxic at Slurpuff, who agile dodged the attacks by jumping from rock to rock. She seemed to be taunting Dragalge, as she stuck out her tongue. Unfortunately for Drake, Dragalge took the bait, and charged towards Slurpuff for a close range attack.

"Dazzling Gleam." Pakura ordered, and Dragalge was assaulted by the bright light, sending it back. "Now, use Psychic." The super-effective move hurled Dragalge towards one of the rocks, and Dragalge hit the rock, smashing it into pieces in the process.

"Are you sure Drake can win?" Phoebe was looking at her Elites with uncertainty, as she watched Drake's Dragalge getting pulverized by the Slurpuff despite the even type match-up.

"I thought he could, but…" Glacia gulped when she watched the sheer power of the Slurpuff before her eyes. "It looks like he would lose this match."

"He's unlucky to be pitted against her, huh?" Sidney commented.

'I don't believe Drake can defeat her, even if he has the advantage.' Ash thought, smirking and shaking his head confidently. 'She was able to defeat my Fire-types with her Ice Pokémon during the Elite challenge.' He shuddered at the sheer coldness of the Ice-type attacks, as they seemed to radiate coldness that made him shiver.

"Unlucky? You'd be unlucky if you are going to battle any of those PAL Elites." Glacia replied.

"Oh, I don't know." Sidney said loftily. "Remember the article that came out on Rosaline?"

"Are you talking about the one where she begged the other three for more chances to apply to be an Elite member despite having blown it, not once, but twice?" Tate and Liza asked in unison, deciding to join the conversation, and Sidney nodded.

'You're lucky she isn't in.' Jude thought, as the said person was actually in the bathroom at the moment.

"I don't know what to think." Wallace sighed. "I mean, Rosaline is nice and all, but she should really respect the rules the region has even if she isn't born there. She is in their region, so she should follow their rules."

"Yeah, you tell that to her." Phillip grumbled, loud enough for everyone to hear. When everyone looked at him, he said, "What? Everything in the article was true. We didn't even want her actually."

"Phillip!" Jude exclaimed. "That's harsh!"

"Yeah." Elesa frowned. "Lay off her."

"Lay off her?" Phillip was incredulous. "It's true. Sure, she has psychic powers, but despite this, she's still weaker than the Dragon Duo, and they weren't even born with psychic powers. I don't hate her, but seriously, she was second choice for our Psychic specialist."

"Rosaline is a nice girl. I think she is better than all of you." Siebold spoke up.

"I think so too, actually." Jude shook his head. "I mean none of us became an Elite Four or Champion of this region by chance….except her."

Jude knew what Siebold had found out. About Rosaline being truly, deep-down, better than the rest of them. Jude slowly drowned Lacey without blinking an eye. According to Rosaline, the others don't take long to become deadly themselves. Rosaline would have attempted negotiations first, would try to bring in her target alive. But that wouldn't help her in terms of keeping her Elite status. After all, the Elite members and Champion didn't get their position for their compassion towards human lives when it comes to Pokémon being in danger.

"If you think she's too good to be one of us, then tell her to leave the Elite." Phillip said dismissively. "Nobody is asking her to stay."

Siebold opened his mouth, when Ash, clearly tired of this, said, "Alright, enough. I agree with Paku on the fact that she has to solve this problem on her own. We already warned her ample times that her Elite position is not to boost her reputation or her social life or to be used to prove to her childhood bullies she was the very best. It's up to her to prove that she is truly worthy of having this position, and it would partly depend on her performance in this tournament. If she still doesn't listen, we'll just dismiss her. Until then, I don't want to hear another word." With that, he turned back in time to see Slurpuff take down Dragalge with Fairy Wind.

Phillip and Jude nodded, and made a zipping motion near their mouths, indicating they were going to shut up about it.

Unknown to them, Rosaline had heard what they said, and she sat outside, contemplating on her next move. After all, they were all waiting for her to prove that she took the Elite position not for herself but for the people and the Pokémon, and she has no right to ask for another chance should she screw this up. She would be sitting there until Pakura found her.

* * *

"Elite Drake, please send out your last Pokémon!" Evan ordered.

"Salamence, I choose you!" Pakura raised a brow when she saw Salamence was wearing a Mega Stone. Drake revealed his Key Stone, and the Salamencite reacted to the Key Stone, causing Salamence to evolve into Mega Salamence.

'I think I should be able to take down Mega Salamence with Slurpuff. After all I did use quite a lot of energy draining moves to recover Slurpuff's energy.' Pakura thought, as Evan announced the start of the battle.

"Salamence, start things off with Aerial Ace!" Drake ordered.

"Dazzling Gleam, followed by Psychic." Pakura countered. The Dazzling Gleam wasn't enough to push Mega Salamence back, but was enough to distract it, and Slurpuff used Psychic on herself to get on Mega Salamence's back.

"Now, Play Rough." Pakura commanded. As Slurpuff was on Mega Salamence when using the move, Mega Salamence took the full brunt of the damage. Before Drake could react, Pakura called for a Thunderbolt as well, electrocuting Mega Salamence. Lady Luck must be smiling at Pakura, for Mega Salamence was now paralyzed.

"Ouch, so early in the battle and Mega Salamence is already paralyzed." Clair winced, as this allowed Pakura to assault Mega Salemence with Fairy Wind.

"Salamence, use Rest." Drake called out. Mega Salamence closed its eyes, and fell asleep, and recovered its energy and healed its status ailment.

"Now use Sleep Talk." Sleep Talk turned out to be Flamethrower, which Pakura wasted no time to dodge, and use Dream Eater. Drake ordered another Sleep Talk, which ended up being Dragon Breath, and Slurpuff successfully used Dream Eater, recovering her own energy once more.

"Sleep Talk again!" Drake was getting a little desperate. This time, Sleep Talk was Steel Wing, and Pakura calmly told Slurpuff to get out of the way.

When Pakura sensed that Mega Salamence was about to wake up, she got Slurpuff to fire a Toxic, making Mega Salamence badly poisoned, much to Drake's exasperation, though Mega Salamence had more energy than before using Rest.

"Salamence, let's use Fire Blast!" Drake decided to go for a powerful move.

"Cotton Guard." Pakura countered. Slurpuff protected herself, but as Fire Blast is a powerful move, she was still damaged. "Now, use Endeavour." The Endeavour managed to cut Mega Salamence's energy to equal Slurpuff's and what was more, the Toxic was slowly draining Mega Salamence's health.

"So, Elite Drake, what would you do?" Pakura asked, knowing the match was hers.

* * *

"Salamence is unable to battle! Slurpuff wins! Which means, the winner of the match is Elite Pakura!" Evan announced, as Pakura returned a tired Slurpuff with a word of thanks, and leaving the battlefield without another word. When she reached outside the VIP Box, she saw Rosaline sitting there.

"Why are you outside again?" Pakura asked, sighing.

"Oh. I heard them talking about me. Looks like the others really hate me, thinking I am some second-rate Psychic specialist." Rosaline admitted.

"To be blunt, you are. Our first choice definitely wasn't you." Pakura replied, leaving Rosaline to give her a hurt look. Pakura went on, "But why do you care what others say? They aren't the one going to prove themselves. You are."

"They hate me." Rosaline mumbled.

Pakura yawned, clearly bored. "Seriously, are you just going to sit there and complain what others think of you? If so, I think you're really not worthy of the Elite position. Because a PAL Elite member never complains about the catches they encounter when having the position. Why? Because they have a reason to fight to keep their position. Then again, you don't have a good reason to even keep your position."

"Tell me honestly: Would you have kicked me out, given the chance?" Rosaline asked quietly.

"To be honest, no, I never wanted you in and neither did Phillip, especially when you didn't even know you are supposed to be a Hunter to apply. But you begged so hard, cried even, I gave you a chance, hoping you'd go away and die in the Hunter Exam." Pakura was blunt, but Rosaline knew she would never lie.

"You wanted me dead." Rosaline said, looking her in the eye.

"Back then, yes. But you survived and even passed, so I had no choice but to let you in." Pakura's lips curled very slightly in contempt at the thought. "There are times where I wished I had killed you on the spot when you asked for more chances despite having blown them twice."

Rosaline wondered how many times Pakura had thought of this a day, and thanked Arceus that Pakura has a lot of self-control on her part.

"However, as much as I hated to admit it, you are a part of the team, and my moral is that no one gets left behind. Besides, you did have other occupations and a talent they can interview you about, not many people can say that. The others don't hate you, but you need to work on your empathy, your positivity is a little too over the top, which you should know by now, sometimes it's more irritating than encouraging." Pakura went on. "Besides, at this point, I don't really want to replace you, it's too troublesome to find a new member."

Deep down, Rosaline felt hope rise in her when Pakura said this, as this meant she still had a chance.

"After all, you did have a reason to fight for your position." Pakura finished.

"I do?" Rosaline asked.

"Yes, you do." Pakura sighed. "I already found one."

"Tell me!" Rosaline jumped up, and leant towards her.

"You have to find out for yourself. I'll give you a hint: It was in front of you the night you argued with Colette, and talked to Siebold. Now get to your match, shoo." With that, she opened the VIP Box, and Falkner came out. Rosaline realized her match was next, and hastily made her way to the Launch Room.

"What took you so long?" Ash asked.

"Rosaline heard what you said, and took it upon herself to sit outside until I found her, and gave her a talking-to." Pakura muttered, glaring at everybody as if it's their faults.

Ash put an arm around her as she sat down and gave her a squeeze. "Like you said, we should leave her to deal with this on her own. No talking about it then. However, we can't stop the outsiders. Just enjoy the match for now." He frowned at the other regional guests, who gulped at his cold gaze. Pakura looked around, and met grey eyes which were narrowed in anger or jealousy.

'I can sense the love she has for her Pokémon, and the fact that she genuinely wants to help Pokémon trainers improve and increase their bond with their Pokémon. She has a strong and independent personality, no doubt she is a very powerful Champion, but she's a threat to the clearing of Ash's name, even if he doesn't know it. I have to make sure she doesn't find out about Ash, and eliminate her if I have to, even if Ash would hate me.' Pakura thought. 'What a shame, Champion Cynthia. You are a great person, I'll admit it. But…'

'Why did you glare at Cynthia?' Ash inwardly frowned at her, using telepathy. So he did not miss the split-second glower after all.

'Because we hate each other?' Pakura replied.

'What's not to like about her?' Ash asked telepathically.

'Well for instance, she called me a faggot in this really insulting tone the other day before I went to the modelling show.' Jude interrupted, apparently listening in to the telepathic conversation. 'Just because I have soft features does not mean I am gay.'

'You're bi, but still…' Phillip pointed out, watching Rosaline's Delphox battle Falkner's Aerodactyl. At the scoreboard, it was indicated Rosaline was still at her first Pokémon, while Falkner was down to his last. It was clear she was determined not to switch out.

'Enough. Just enjoy the match for now.' Pakura ended the conversation, tired of hearing Ash defend Cynthia, when clearly she was not worth defending. Pakura definitely have to get her out of the way somehow.

Pakura confessed that Cynthia is a beautiful woman, but obviously in a different way than her. There is something a charm about her that is bound to capture men's attention, including Ash's. Her intuition tells her that Cynthia wanted to be the Prince's Consort, something she could only achieve via marriage.

'Ok, that's it. I swear to Arceus, you won't leave this region alive, Champion Cynthia.' Pakura thought.

* * *

Ash was sitting in the library again, researching the previous winners of the Pokémon Conferences all around the six regions. Besides his name, he saw another that had his name under the six lists (one list for one conference), and what was more, like his, it was consecutive: Shiki Kurobane.

When he saw the picture of the boy, the first thing he thought was he could be Pakura's brother, but remembered that she said her family members achieved nothing in their goal, but Shiki had won six Pokémon Conferences like him (a counterpart of Pakura's Six Grand Festival wins), and if Pakura isn't lying, so Shiki couldn't be her brother. Ash checked the list of Trainer's Tournament winners, but his name wasn't among them.

"Why are you researching on Shiki?" A voice asked. Ash jumped, only to see Johto Champion Lance looking into the screen.

"Nothing. I heard Paku mention his name, and I wondered who he was, so I am doing research." Ash invented. "Why? Do you know him?"

Lance hesitated, before saying, "Yeah, I did. We were childhood friends, until we had a huge argument the night we were to start our Pokémon journey, and he just packed and left without waiting for me."

"About what?" Ash was curious.

Lance frowned, and said, "Well…it was about the ideologies of the Elders. Shiki was really outspoken when it comes to opposing their views. He asked me what I thought, and when I stayed silent, that was when he got angry, saying I'm a coward for not speaking up, and nothing would change if we didn't do anything."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Ash raised a brow.

"I admit, I was frightened of the Elders, of what they'd do to me if they found out what I really thought. I heard what they did to the Cursed Child." Lance replied. "The Elders forgive Shiki because he was an extremely brilliant and talented prodigy. My credit is not as good with them as his was." Ash could hear a hint of envy in his voice, but inwardly rolled his eyes, knowing Shiki was right about Lance.

"Did you ever meet him again?" Ash asked.

"No, I never saw him in person again after the argument." Lance shook his head.

"Not even when the Blackthorn massacre happened?"

"No…wait, how did you know?" Lance was suspicious.

"The Hunter's Association has eyes and ears everywhere." Ash replied calmly. "I do have access to classified information. No, they still have not found out who did it." He said the last sentence when he saw the look of hope in Lance's eyes.

Ash gave him a funny look, as he went on, "I don't see why you should bother avenging them. By the sound of it, you don't agree with the Elder's ways after all. And don't you dare say you are scared." Ash cut him off, as he opened his mouth about to reply.

Ash stood up, nearly spilling his tea in the process. "Look here, Lance. You're the Elite Leader of the Kanto region, and the Champion of the Johto region. What is more, you are slated to become the next Leader of the Dragon Clan. You are supposed to be calling the shots now, not them. What is people going to say if they find out you are displaying the traits of a follower, not a leader?"

"They threatened us, Red. I can't do anything." Lance protested.

"But they are dead, aren't they?" Ash gave a vicious grin. "Dead people can't do anything to you- except haunt you." He saw the look on Lance's face, and said, "Oh come on. I was kidding. They're probably rotting in the Distortion World, and only Giratina itself can control them, and someone with Scarlet Anger."

"Scarlet Anger?" Lance was puzzled.

"Do your research." Ash was too lazy to explain the technique. "Take an advice from someone who has been leading this entire region. I suggest you take a leaf out of Shiki's book." He wondered how did someone who have courage to take on infiltration missions can be frightened of his own Elders. Perhaps they had psychologically conditioned them using the Cursed Child as an example to frighten them, which made Ash wonder how they were actually raised.

"Otherwise, you'll never be able to make better changes in your Clan for future generations." Ash concluded.

Lance was rather taken aback by his sage and direct advice. In fact, he still appeared to be digesting the fact that someone younger than him was better in seeing the way things are supposed to be than he was. Then again, he was given the responsibility of running the entire region the moment he became the regional Champion.

"You're right." Lance finally said. "Guess it'll take time to work on my assertiveness, though."

"Good luck with that." Ash nodded, going back to his research on Shiki Kurobane while adding what he knew about Shiki thanks to Lance, as the Johto Champion left the library thoughtfully.

Unknown to Lance, he had dropped something from his pocket that Ash would later retrieve. A locket that contained the letter addressed to him, dated eleven years ago.

* * *

"Here, Manaphy, open your mouth." Manaphy opened his mouth, and Pakura fed him a Poképuff. Manaphy took a bite, and chewed on it, as Pakura asked, "What do you think?"

" _Mama, it's tasty!"_ Manaphy smiled. _"I want more."_

"I'm running out on them, and the other Pokémon need it." Pakura petted Manaphy on the head, who pouted. As she wiped Manaphy's mouth, she said, "Don't worry, I'll go to town later to get more ingredients, and I can get more made by tomorrow. Remember, I'm the only one who can make Poképuffs in the team."

" _I understand mama."_ Manaphy went in for a hug, which Pakura obliged. She had taken care of baby Pokémon before, but had never took care of a Legendary who had a childlike personality.

It wasn't hard to fall in love with Manaphy's charms. From the fateful day when Manaphy revealed himself to her, they had done many activities together, like a mother and child may do. As days went by, she became attached to the innocent little Manaphy, and watched him become an able battler. But what would Manaphy think if he were ever to find out the other side of her?

" _When would you and papa get married so we'll be a happy family?"_ Manaphy suddenly spoke up.

Pakura choked on her smoothie, before composing herself, and gave a small laugh, as she replied. "Manaphy, he's in love with that beautiful Champion Cynthia. Perhaps he's trying to get her to date him, and they'd probably get married in the future."

" _No, I don't want Cynthia as mama! You are mama!"_ Manaphy started wailing, and Pakura started singing a lullaby while rocking him to soothe him.

"There, there, little one." Pakura hushed him.

" _Mama, would you try to steal Papa from that mean blonde lady?"_ Manaphy asked, causing Pakura to look at Manaphy incredulously. Where did he learn that from?

"Cynthia? Oh I don't know, I mean have you seen the way your Papa looks at her?" Pakura frowned.

" _I don't care how he looks at her. You will try, won't you, mama? Really, really try?"_ Manaphy begged.

"Ok, I'll try." Pakura sighed just to appease Manaphy. "But Papa is the type to want someone to be by his side for a long, long time. Would you still want mama, even if she isn't going to last any longer?"

" _Yes, but mama will have a long, long life ahead, and keep papa company!"_ Manaphy nodded vigorously.

'If only you knew, Manaphy.' Pakura thought, but petted Manaphy's head and pretended to agree with Manaphy.

" **Ash is seriously dense."** Sylveon spoke up.

"What can I say? That's one thing about Ash you can't change." Pakura muttered, unknown that someone had heard it, and decided to speak up.

"You know Ash?" Cynthia blurted out. Pakura narrowed her eyes and turned around, only to face three regional Champions- Kanto Champion Steven, Johto Champion Lance, and of course, Sinnoh Champion Cynthia.

"I do. I met him before." Pakura admitted.

"Do you know where he is?" Steven asked.

Pakura nodded. No point in lying.

"Tell us where." Cynthia commanded.

"I don't have to listen to you, considering this region is my domain." Pakura replied.

"Then we'll make you tell us." Cynthia took out a Pokéball, and the other two followed suit, though Lance was a little reluctant, as he knew her reputation as the Dragon Slayer, and watched Drake lose to her horribly. "If we win this, you will tell us, otherwise, I'm afraid we have to brand you as an accomplice." Pakura wondered how long she had been waiting to do that to her, and made a mental note that her life is forfeit. She watched as an Aggron, Roserade and Aerodactyl appeared in front of her.

'They have three Pokémon on hand right now.' Pakura thought. 'It's most likely they'd use them all to try and beat my Pokémon. However, as long as Cynthia and Lance don't have access to Mega Evolution, they aren't really a threat, and I won't have to go all out. I doubt I even need to use aura or telepathy to communicate to give them surprise attacks.'

"Manpahy, stand back." Pakura said, as Manaphy looked ready to battle. "You're not exactly ready for these types of battle." Manaphy pouted, but nodded, as he hopped onto her head.

Pakura turned to face the three Champions. Here she is, defending Ash against them and protecting the information of his current location so that they wouldn't immediately throw him in jail.

"Let's go, Gardevoir, Altaria!" Pakura chose the Embrace and Humming Pokémon, and both were wearing Mega Stones. She will show them she wasn't crowned the Elite Leader for nothing, and why even Ash had a hard time defeating her when he took the Elite challenge.

* * *

"Here." Tenma was at Jude's shop, handing him a package. "The magazine subscription you wanted."

"Oh, the new issue of PokéSTYLE. Thanks." Jude replied, paying Tenma the appropriate money for the delivery, and even tipping him for his fast service. He saw that December's issue featured Pakura wearing one of her formal gowns, and she had her tiara on her hands, looking at it in slight disdain. It must be a picture taken during some social party, but it made a great cover.

Jude opened it up without hesitation, reading the articles that talked about the humiliating moments May and Dawn had and their botch during the PAL Contest. He sighed, as he knew the behind-the-scenes that caused the sabotage. He then noticed a picture of Naoto and Ryoko wearing one of the suits and wedding gowns they were deciding on for their wedding, with the headline, "Zodiac Taurus Converts Old Fighting Dojo to a Community Centre, Dedicates It to Bride-to-Be."

There was the picture of the revamped building, which was cleaned up, and even added some more features, such as glass doors, and even added a few more floors.

Jude immediately called Naoto from the phone next to the cash register.

"Nice story." Jude complimented, when Naoto picked up.

"Ryoko is pleased." Jude could almost see the grin in Naoto's face.

"She should be." Jude replied. "Not many guys convert a building to suit something completely different in your honour."

"Well." Naoto said. "Ryoko's worth it."

"Of course she is." Jude agreed. He truly believed that too.

"So, a little Pidgey told me you were dating Elesa?" Naoto said. "How are things going with her?"

"Hard to say, we only got together like yesterday." Jude frowned.

"Things would go well, you'll see." Naoto reassured him. "How are the others?"

Jude had seen Rosaline with Siebold earlier, probably going on another afternoon date or something. She did walk out of the battlefield with some of the audience cheering after she wiped the floor with Falkner's Pokémon. However, others said it was unfair as Falkner was a Gym Leader, and she didn't exactly defeat an Elite Four like Pakura did, or a former League Champion like Ash. Still, she did gain some of her support back, which cheered her up slightly.

"They're good. In fact, Rosaline is a little happier, if anything." Jude answered.

"That's great." Naoto remarked.

"Sorry you had to postpone your wedding, though." Jude said. "I mean, with the Pokémon World Championships and all."

"It's fine, no worries. We'll just marry when there is a free day after the tournament ends." Naoto replied dismissively. That was when the bell over the front door of the store tinkled, and Elesa came back with iced chocolate for the both of them.

"Thought you might need a little perk-me-up." Elesa handed over Jude's cup that had whipped cream on it lined with caramel.

"Thanks." Jude smiled. "I just got to finish this phone call."

Elesa nodded to show she understood, and went over to the jewellery rack to see if there were anything she liked.

"Have you been looking at the gossip websites lately?" Naoto asked.

"Not really, why?" Jude frowned.

"Nothing much, but there was a rumour saying that Princess Pakura and Champion Cynthia were competing for Champion Red's heart, and if those gossipers were the judge, Princess Pakura would win by now. They think she is better suited for him, you know."

"I can safely say Pakura does like Red in that way, but sadly for her, the reverse doesn't apply." Jude sighed. "She'll have to find some way to steal him away from Champion Cynthia, since Red is so-called in love with her. I say Champion Red deserves better than that Sinnoh Champion."

"Agreed." Naoto added. "It'll cause a lot of trouble if that Sinnoh Champion joins you."

"I know, right?" Jude rolled his eyes at the thought. If Ash ever went out with Cynthia, he swore to Arceus, he'd move to Afghanistan. "She called me a faggot the other day!"

Elesa looked up in disbelief when she heard Jude inadvertently shout the statement. So that would explain why Jude doesn't seem to like Cynthia. The bell at the front door tinkled again, and someone walked in.

"Look at that, a customer just walked in." Jude said to Naoto. "Got to go, Naoto, talk to you later."

"Bye, Jude." Naoto replied.

"Bye." Jude hung up, and began tending to the customer's wants.

After the customer left happily with her purchases, Elesa started speaking.

"So, Cynthia really called you that?" Elesa asked quietly.

"Do I look like I got anything to gain by lying about her?" Jude said incredulously.

Elesa shook her head, knowing Jude doesn't actually know Cynthia personally, and what was more, they were from different regions. She noticed Jude's magazine, picked it up, and flipped through it.

"They sure work fast." Elesa turned the magazine around where she had the magazine turned to the centrefold. In the centrefold were many pictures of Jude modelling the latest fashion for men, and they called it, "Fashion fit for a Prince."

"What the heck, that's so off. I'm not a Prince." Jude shook his head.

"No, but you have the looks of one." Elesa gave him a smile.

Jude pointed to himself and had this look as if to say, "I do?"

"Yeah, they even mention in one of the magazine that you're the prince among the singers." Elesa said. "You didn't tell me you were a recurring competitor of the Interregional Voices of Talent Competition."

"Oh yeah, the Dragon Prince and I were old rivals in that competition when I started joining in to try and get my life together. Ever since the third season, we would somehow meet at one point as competitors." Jude had an expression similar to someone who was thinking of the great memories he had. "The magazines and newspaper articles would keep talking about our friendly rivalry."

"Don't that competition allow helpers?" Elesa enquired.

"Oh yeah, so I do get famous singers from our region to help me out. But, the Dragon Prince would get his partner, the Dragon Princess to back him up, and that's why I lost to him more than I won, because they were really in sync together, and the Dragon Princess can sing very well. They like to sing for fun, I hear, and the Dragon Prince actually won the sixth season." Jude explained.

"Why did you retire, though?" Elesa asked. "I know you stopped participating in these types of competition."

"Oh, they disappeared, and I didn't really find it fun anymore, so I retired after I won the seventh season, but they still call me over to judge that singing competition, they were that impressed. I never forgot our friendly rivalry." Jude answered. "I wonder what happened to them?"

"Don't fret yourself over that, pretty boy. You got other things to worry about now." Elesa tossed the magazine at Jude. "When does your shift end?"

"My assistant would be coming in in five minutes." Jude checked the clock. "I can go back to the Tower and change after a quick lunch, before we go shopping, movie and then dinner at that restaurant I told you about. You're picking the movie."

"Me?" Elesa was surprised. "Even if it is a romantic one?"

"Even then." Jude nodded. "Wear something casual."

* * *

"She does have a good reason to be given the title of the Elite Leader." Steven commented, returning his fallen Skarmory and is now down to his Metagross, which he can Mega Evolve. Meanwhile, Lance was down to his last Pokémon- his Dragonite, while Cynthia was also down to her last Pokémon as well, which was her Garchomp.

"The most irritating part is she hasn't used her Mega Evolution yet." Lance nodded in agreement. "She doesn't even have to resort to communicating with telepathy."

"What makes you think she can do it in the first place?" Cynthia glared at her opponent, who stared back with a neutral expression.

"Well, if Rosaline, the weakest Elite can do it, it's safe to assume the others also can." Steven shrugged, as Cynthia proceeded to command her Garchomp to use Earthquake on Gardevoir, which Pakura countered by commanding Gardevoir to use Psychic on herself. At that moment, Steven sent out his Metagross, which Pakura noted it was a Shiny Pokémon.

"The sparkle of our stone…shall be our bond. Metagross, Mega Evolve!" Steven said, as his Key Stone reacted with the Metagrossite, and Metagross Mega Evolved into Mega Metagross.

"I can sense the power that is emitting from your Mega Metagross." Pakura nodded. "However…Altaria, Gardevoir, show them the power of our bond." Pakura pressed the Key Stone on her Mega Charm, and the two Mega Evolved simultaneously.

"No way! In one battle, only one Pokémon can Mega Evolve at the time. How…" Steven was extremely shocked.

"And at the same time too." Lance was awed.

"Stop gawking, guys." Cynthia said. "Mega Evolution or not, we need to take her down to get Ash's location!"

"Right." The male Champions nodded in unison.

'Too bad for you, I will win this match.' Pakura thought. 'As the regional Princess, I will defend the Prince's honour…until the day he does not need me to do so.'

"Metagross, Flash Cannon!" Steven commanded.

"Dragonite, Flamethrower!" Lance ordered.

"Garchomp, Hyper Beam!" Cynthia called out.

The three attacks went towards Mega Gardevoir and Mega Altaria, but Pakura knew how to counter them.

"Gardevoir, Shadow Ball. Altaria, Draco Meteor." Mega Gardevoir sent a barrage of Shadow Balls to counter the three attacks, and an explosion occurred. During the distraction, Mega Altaria fired a Draco Meteor in the sky, which the three Pokémon tried to dodge.

When Mega Metagross was near Mega Gardevoir, Pakura commanded Mega Gardevoir to use Will-O-Wisp, causing Mega Metagross to have the Burn status.

"Oh no!" Steven noticed the burn status inflicted. "Metagross, Flash Cannon!" He needed to end this quickly, as the burn status would slowly drain its energy. Cynthia couldn't do anything as her Garchomp needed to recharge from the Hyper Beam earlier, leaving Lance to attack.

"Dragonite, help out with Blizzard!" Lance commanded.

"Psychic it back." Pakura countered, and Mega Gardevoir send the Blizzard back to Dragonite. Before Lance could react, Pakura said, "Altaria, use Toxic."

"Crap." Lance realized his Dragonite was now poisoned.

"Draining Kiss." Pakura ordered, and Mega Gardevoir used it to drain Dragonite's energy, and recover hers. However, as this time, Garchomp finished recharging and was about to attack with Steel Wing and Pakura called Mega Gardevoir to use Psychic to bring Dragonite in front of her to use as a shield.

"How low of you to do that." Cynthia hissed, as Dragonite was thrown aside by Mega Gardevoir.

"You're the ones that surrounded me with a total of nine Pokémon against my Gardevoir and my Altaria." Pakura retorted.

"Giga Impact!" Cynthia called out.

"I shall meet you head on. You use Giga Impact too, Gardevoir." The Giga Impacts clashed, and Pakura used this chance to ask Mega Altaria to use Perish Song on the Champions' Pokémon. Because of the smoke from the explosion covering all their Pokémon, however, the Champions were unaware of it.

"Metagross, Meteor Mash!" Steven took this opportunity to attack.

"Hyper Voice." Pakura countered. The Hyper Voice managed to keep Mega Metagross back, but it allowed Lance's Dragonite to attack with Ice Beam from behind.

"Are you alright, Altaria?" Pakura asked. Altaria got up, shook her head, and was ready for battle once more.

"Garchomp, Stone Edge!" Cynthia commanded.

"Use Thunderbolt." Pakura turned to Mega Gardevoir. The Thunderbolt and Stone Edge clashed, and Cynthia ordered Garchomp to use Shadow Claw.

"Altaria, back Gardevoir up by using Dragon Claw." The Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw clashed, and Pakura commanded Mega Gardevoir to use Moonblast on Dragonite. Dragonite was caught off guard by the attack, and took the full brunt of the attack.

'One more move for Garchomp.' Pakura thought, and Cynthia called for an Aerial Ace, which hit Mega Gardevoir.

"Garchomp, let's use Iron Head!" However, at that point, Garchomp became surrounded in a red aura, and she collapsed with swirls in her eyes.

"It's Perish Song!" Lance recognized that move. "Altaria must have hit Garchomp with it somehow!"

Cynthia glared at Pakura as she returned her fallen Pokémon.

"Metagross, Bullet Punch!" Steven commanded.

"Gardevoir, Ice Punch." Pakura countered. When the attacks clashed, Pakura told Gardevoir to use Fire Punch on the other hand. Steven saw this however, and called for a Thunder Punch. However, the moment Metagross executed Thunder Punch, the red aura surrounded Mega Metagross and it started to collapse. Mega Gardevoir seemed to sense something and jumped aside, as a Fire Blast hit the falling Mega Metagross. The moment Mega Metagross collapsed, the Mega Evolution wore off.

"Crap! That means Lance's Dragonite is also affected!" Steven looked at his fallen Pokémon. "Good work, Metagross." He returned his partner to its Pokéball.

Lance sighed, knowing that the match was Pakura's, and she didn't even have to go all out by the looks of it. If even she lost to Champion Red, imagine the power Champion Red has.

"Dragonite, Hyper Beam!" Lance commanded.

"Moonblast." Pakura smirked, as the Moonblast overpowered the Hyper Beam, and hit Dragonite dead on. Pakura wasn't done yet, however, as a Disarming Voice also hit Dragonite, sending him to the ground. Lance winced as he watched the Perish Song take effect, and his partner falling to the Fairy-type moves combo.

"Is this all you've got?" Pakura asked mockingly. "I expected better, seeing as all of you are Champions, and you all attacked my Gardevoir and Altaria with nine of your Pokémon. What a disappointment."

Lance and Steven had the sense to look somewhat ashamed of themselves. Cynthia, however, shot her with a hostile look.

"Keep in mind I don't owe you an answer to Ash's location, since we never met in person before this tournament was held. But I stand on the fact that I think Ash is innocent, and I will do whatever it takes to prove it." Pakura went on.

"In due time, don't blame us if he's guilty and you are charged for being an accomplice." Cynthia said quietly.

"Witnesses are not exactly reliable sources. We look for evidence." Pakura replied.

"I have to agree with Pakura on this one." Lance replied. "That is why I voted yes for the trial to happen. Words from biased people are not reliable."

Cynthia was about to retort, but Steven said, "Look, we shouldn't disturb her, she did just defeat us. Badgering her would be useless. We'll just see what happens in time."

"A wise decision, Champion Steven." Pakura said approvingly. "But since you lost, both of you will owe me a favour each." She gave Lance and Steven a look, which they nodded, since if she had betted information on Ash's location in the battle. Since she won, it'd be fair for her to have something.

"Are you serious?" Cynthia was incredulous when the other two agreed.

"If you excuse me, I'll go heal my Pokémon." With that, she returned her Altaria and Gardevoir, and left with her Sylveon, Skitty and her 'child' Manaphy.

* * *

Somewhere in the Distortion World, Giratina was watching his latest Chosen struggling to supress her emotions, which would activate Scarlet Anger. Its Cherish Ball was still on her hands, but it didn't matter. It still can control her.

It watched with silent glee at the power that his latest Chosen had even without the Scarlet Anger. Yes, it made a fine choice indeed. The Dragon Princess was a brilliant user, there is no way it was going to let her go. Her potential with the Scarlet Anger was limitless, if only she could understand the terrible power she holds and utilize it….

"GIRATINA!" A voice shouted, breaking Giratina from its good mood.

The Ghost/Dragon Renegade Pokémon looked up as a golden mirror appeared, and revealed the form of a very angry Arceus.

"Hello, father." Giratina greeted. "To what do I owe this-?"

"Shut it! I don't have time for your crap!" Arceus shouted. "How could you corrupt that innocent girl?"

"Innocent?" Giratina tilted its head to feign innocent ignorance. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean!" Arceus was furious. "Let the girl go at once!"

"You asked me that many times, but my answer is the same: No. Why? Because she's the most brilliant Scarlet Anger user I ever had since the first Princess Pakura Goldstein. Not like the other imbeciles I had, who lost control and got themselves killed. Too bad Pakura Goldstein ended up with you, Arceus." Giratina chuckled.

"Thanks to your selfish actions, the Chosen One will be broken beyond repair!" Arceus yelled. "Have you ever thought what would happen if the Chosen One is taken out?"

"You really should be thanking me. I did give her a chance to exact revenge to those pigs that ruined her life. Besides, what say do you have? You didn't save her, not there for her like I was. Besides, Ashura's a very powerful aura user, thanks to my Chosen, so I won't worry about him if I were you. But really, it's no concern of mine."

Arceus growled. "You will regret what you did, Giratina, I swear."

"Like how?" Giratina laughed. "I can see the lifespan of the girl. Would only live up to her 25th birthday at the rate she is going."

Arceus widened its eyes, as it also knew Pakura's actual age and birthday, which mean she only had slightly more than a year left to live if she doesn't lose her Scarlet Anger ability.

"She'll be free of that Scarlet Anger before her 25th birthday comes, I assure you. She'll live, and you'll be left with no Chosen, and the Chosen One will save the world." Arceus answered before cutting the connection off, and the golden mirror shattered into pieces, slowly disappearing.

Giratina rolled its eyes. Nobody ever broke free of Scarlet Anger, so what made Arceus think she can? Especially since she doesn't have much time left.

* * *

"I'll return this to Lance later." Ash said to Pikachu, when he caught a glimpse of something gold on the floor. He had picked it up, and took it with him to the forest clearing, a secret place only the Elites knew about. Not surprising, the locket was made out of a medallion containing a draconic pattern. He opened it, and a folded piece of paper, yellowed with age, fell out of the locket. Ash opened it, seeing very neat handwriting, and read:

 _Lance,_

 _It has been a while, isn't it? I'm just writing to tell you, I found her. She was nothing like how they imagined her as. I always thought, how could they think of her as cursed, blaming her for something she has no control of? Poor girl has been through a lot, I probably cannot say anything about her or me, in case anyone finds this. I suppose you have to be the Dragon Clan's Leader now. I just can't be the Clan Leader knowing what they did to her, and how they allowed Team Rocket to experiment on her and torture her to create a weapon to counter psychics and aura users. It's just sick. I doubt I should enclose a picture of her (as much as I want to) in case this falls into the wrong hands._

 _I say she has potential and she's going to be a great Pokémon Trainer someday. I don't know if she has anything against Dragon-type Pokémon (since our Clan primarily trains Dragon-type), but hopefully she would be, I do desire a companion after all, especially such a cute one like her! I just gave her a Pokémon Egg to take care of for her starter, and I admit, I killed someone, but I did it to protect the little girl. I took his PokéDex (apparently a teenager who doesn't know better about Team Rocket), and programmed it to be under her ownership (seriously, that teenager doesn't catch his own Pokémon, I only released like only five Pokémon from the PokéDex). I've always been fairly brilliant when it comes to hacking._

 _We had a very quiet birthday tea for her birthday, just us and my Pokémon. My Pokémon is really sweet, doting on the little one immediately. She's still a little jumpy, afraid that my Pokémon would attack her anytime, but anyone who tries, even my own Pokémon, would be dealt with severely. Did you know when I first got her out, she cried upon seeing my Espeon, who just only wanted to play? Could you imagine what they did to her during her approximately ten-year imprisonment?_

 _But this leads me to my bit of advice. I must tell you, Lance that nothing could put you in danger more than continued fraternisation with those people. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this, and no doubt I had said it like a thousand times, but I feel bound to tell you that blood and heritage does not decide everything. I shall say no more here, but when you become Champion (yes I believe you can be a Champion), you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing - and see if you can spot yours truly! The future and reputation of the Clan is now on you._

 _I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realise the huge mistake they made the moment they sent the Cursed Child away, and I hope they would live the regret for the rest of their lives. It's incredible that the little one-_

That was when the letter was torn off. No, more like cut off, the lines were very slightly off, indicating someone may have used a pair of scissors or a penknife. That left Ash's mind reeling. The cut off part could contain anything. It would be incredible if the little one the writer was talking about turned out to be a boy, or if the little one had Stockholm syndrome and went back to Team Rocket.

Whatever, he'll find out later. This letter confirms something horrifying though. The weapon was not an inanimate object, but a living person. Specifically, the Dragon Princess, as he was almost sure the writer of the letter was the Dragon Prince himself.

The Dragon Princess would pose a threat to them should she be an enemy, as he doesn't know where their allegiances lie. The Dragon Prince is probably loyal to his little one, the Dragon Princess, going wherever she goes, but who does the Dragon Princess herself side? No one knows, not even him. From the letter, it also sounded like the Dragon Prince was against his own Clan from the start because of the way they treated the little girl they dubbed "The Cursed Child", so he can also confirm that the Dragon Duo really originated from Blackthorn City.

" **It looks like the Dragon Duo can be a powerful ally."** Pikachu remarked, reading the letter from his shoulder.

"Or a powerful enemy." Ash said grimly, noting that the Dragon Prince already knew how to kill at a very young age. No wonder the PAL Region is a perfect region for the Dragon Prince to reside in.

A rustle of the bushes, and Ash turned, aiming his throwing knife, only to see Pakura emerging, holding her hands up.

"Paku." Ash embarrassedly lowered his throwing knife.

"I thought I'd drop by to see how you're doing." Pakura sat down on an empty spot.

"I found a vital clue." Ash thrust the letter at her. Pakura stayed silent as she read it. The letter covered the fact that she was narrowing her eyes.

"So, the Dragon Princess is the weapon. Congrats, now you know. What are you going to do now? It's a human life you're toying with here." Pakura said.

"Since when has human lives been important to you?" Ash shot her a look. "You taught me the fact that to end any treachery in this region, we got to kill. After all, didn't you say it's a kill-or-be-killed policy here?"

"I don't know. Everyone is looking for the Dragon Duo ever since they disappeared. If you kill them, everything you worked for would be gone just like that." Pakura replied.

Ash kept quiet, as he knew Pakura had a point.

"But of course, if you must kill them, then you must." Pakura went on. "But seriously, from this letter, I think you and the Dragon Princess have a few things in common."

'She's right. Both of us had been abandoned, me by my friends, and the Dragon Princess by the people of her own hometown. What was more, we lost someone precious, me with my mother, and I think the Dragon Princess might have lost the Dragon Prince who is probably her lover or something, since she showed up alone when she went to Drákói City to return the Dragon Blade, and we all know those two are always seen together from what the locals say.' Ash thought, watching Pakura play with Manaphy.

Meanwhile, Manaphy was inwardly wishing his 'parents' would just get together already. However, he knew his 'parents' had to work this out for themselves. One thing is for sure though: He'll make sure Cynthia never tries to do anything with her Papa, because Papa belongs to his Mama!

* * *

"The audience always likes a good show." Phillip said to his Pachirisu, as he sat in the Plaza Hotel Palm Court, having a cup of peppermint tea. Pakura recommended it to soothe one's stomach, and it does go well with sweet stuff. "But seriously, Rosaline is a long, long way from gaining complete recognition. Falkner is a Gym Leader, and he isn't an Elite Four like Drake."

" **You're saying they would be looking at Pakura for a standard?"** Pachirisu asked.

"Obviously. I mean, she claims Jude has the type advantage? I have the type advantage against Pakura, and yet I lost to her when, so don't she dare talk about type disadvantage." Phillip rolled his eyes. "She's just a lowly little girl who doesn't know shit about this region, and yet wants a high position. She's lucky Pakura hasn't killed her when she asked for two more chances. Pakura's the only reason she got in, and she is so ungrateful, as if she deserved it. Doesn't she know she can't have the final word because her rank is the lowest here?"

" **Do you hate her?"** Pachirisu enquired.

"I don't hate Rosaline, and neither do I like her." Phillip answered honestly. "But seriously, she should have known about the requirement even if she did not read about it, since she claims to be a born psychic. The way she begged for another chance, it's the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. 'Please, give me another chance, I beg of you, I need that spot!' What rubbish is this?"

" **She sounds like her livelihood depends on whether she got the spot or not, considering she's born in an upper-class family."** Pachirisu remarked.

"Her livelihood my foot. All she is after is the boons, not the responsibility. She nearly failed some of her missions all because of her hesitation to kill. She is seriously endangering our region." Phillip shook his head in disgust. "Did you know she attempted to negotiate with her opponents during the Hunter Exam, and only killed when it failed? Who the heck would negotiate in a life-or-death situation?"

" **Pretty unique."** Pachirisu commented.

"Makes me wonder why Pakura even bothered giving her two chances. Seriously, the way she handles things, makes me want to throttle her." Phillip muttered. "I don't hate her, like I said, but she's irritating." Phillip suspected the Dragon Duo must have known this as well, otherwise, why else would they send the evidence and force Makoto to write an article about it to humiliate Rosaline? He suspected it was the Dragon Duo who did it, as other than the five of them, only the Dragon Duo would be able to easily acquire the evidence for what really happened during her application for the spot. However, he did not say anything since he had no proof, and also what contradicts his suspicion was the fact that the Dragon Duo had been missing for six years and counting.

Phillip sensed four presences, no wait, five, and he ducked his head so that they would not see him. He mouthed for his Pachirisu to hide, and he closed the curtains, allowing the shadow of it to hide the corner of the room, which was where he was sitting. They chose the empty table three tables away from him, and if he made use of his Enhanced Hearing, he would be able to hear what they are talking about.

"Thanks for inviting us to tea, Champion Cynthia." May said appreciatively, star-struck at the fact that she was dining with a regional Champion, especially someone as popular as Cynthia. Phillip, meanwhile, activated his CommuniDex to record the conversation.

"Not at all. I am glad to be dining with friends other than my fellow Champions and Elite Four." Cynthia said modestly.

"Is something wrong, Champion Cynthia?" Iris asked. "You sound a bit off."

"Perspective as always." Cynthia laughed. "Don't worry about me."

"We worry, Champion." Dawn added. "If it makes you better, my mother punished me for destroying Pakura's Mega Charm."

At the sound of Pakura's name, Cynthia's expression darkened slightly, before forcing her face into the usual calm smile. This did not go unnoticed, however.

"So Pakura's the source of your problem. She has been causing a lot of problems for us lately." Iris huffed, and the other girls nodded.

'Not really, you leave her alone, and she'll leave you alone.' Phillip thought.

"Especially when I tried to get her to tell me where Ash is, and she responded by attacking me." Cynthia sighed.

'More like you attacked her. Pakura would never make the first move.' Phillip rolled his eyes when he saw how the girls totally fell for it, and were eating it all up.

"She knows where Ash is?" The girls said in unison.

"Champion Cynthia, this is serious, you should report her for assault!" Misty stood up in agitation.

"I can't, remember the influence and authority she has on this region? She's the Princess, and what is more, all the locals love her, even the guests are beginning to get attached to her." Cynthia shook her head. "I guess I'll try to tell Champion Red. After all, he is the best chance I got if I do want payback…not that I want to, anyway."

'Yeah, right.' Phillip inwardly snorted, as Cynthia said, "Not to mention, a Manaphy got attached to her, and calls her its mother."

"WHAT?" The word, which had come out of May cracked through the Palm Court with the explosiveness of a starter's pistol down by the racecar track. All the patrons turned around and looked at them, and then started whispering to one another.

"Oh, did I say that?" Cynthia gasped, but Phillip knew she had said it out on purpose.

"That thief!" May hissed. "How dare she steal my Manaphy from me? When I get my hands on her, I'll…"

'Well, now they know.' Phillip sighed. "I better alert the others." With that, he finished his tea, and sneaked out. On the way out, however, he literally ran smack into Whitney, the Goldenrod City Gym Leader.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" Whitney cried, scrambling around to pick up all the stuff she dropped when running into Phillip.

"Er…sorry?" Phillip replied, as he held out a hand, which Whitney took to get up.

Whitney examined him, and said, "Well, I don't see why you're so awkward, you're not that bad looking. Oh, no! I'm late." She rushed past him to the exit.

Phillip and Pachirisu looked at each other, before Phillip said, "I am definitely not looking for a girlfriend. Girls are unpredictable and weird." He shuddered, and walked out of the Plaza Hotel, unknown of the Kalos Champion that was watching him.

Once Phillip thought he was safe, he sent the video, and contacted Ash.

"They know. They know you have Manaphy and that he chose Pakura to be his Mama. Cynthia told them."

* * *

Ash cut off his communication with Phillip and watched the recording he had sent. He turned to Pakura, who was grooming her Pokémon.

"Paku, I think it's time we be honest to one another." Ash indicated the recording when Cynthia told the girls about her being attacked by Pakura. "Really honest. I know you attacked Cynthia earlier."

Pakura looked up with her usual poker face and said, "Ash, what are you talking about?"

"And her knowing about Manaphy?" Ash shook his head. "Paku, you let Cynthia see Manaphy, and now she told the girls about it. How could you put Manaphy in danger? I know Manaphy loves you and all, but it's not fair to drag Manaphy into the fight."

Pakura started to look defensive. "Ash, first of all, Cynthia was spying on me when I was with Manaphy and my Pokémon, and I did not know, and mentioned your name. That was when she confronted me, and when I refused to tell your location, she forced me to fight her, along with Champion Steven and Champion Lance. Do you know if I did not fight back, you'd be taken into custody without your innocence proven?"

" **I think she's telling the truth. She did fight them to defend you."** Lucario spoke up, but Ash gave him a look that told him to keep quiet.

"Cynthia doesn't know she is being spied on, so it's possible she could be telling the truth. Besides, why would she lie to her own allies?" Ash asked Pakura.

"Have you ever heard the phrase, to fool the enemy, you must first fool your allies?" Pakura raised a brow.

Ash was about to retort, but was interrupted by Manaphy. _"Yeah, I want to fight, but Mama won't let me. Please, Papa, don't be mad at Mama."_ Manaphy sounded like he was about to cry.

"I guess I cannot change your thinking, Ash, but all I can say is: At the rate you're going, you might end up making the same mistake I did." Pakura said grimly.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"It's for me to know, and for you to find out." Pakura replied. 'Perhaps I might be wrong, Ash is really in love with Cynthia. Oh well, I did what I could.'

"I hate it when you're all secretive like that." Ash grumbled.

"Maybe because I want you to have a nasty surprise?" Pakura shrugged, a slight 'innocent' smile gracing her face. Now she thought of it, she should hate Ash, for being dense and still being in love with the blonde-haired Champion, since she was sure the Sinnoh Champion would use him for her own gain, or for the benefit of her region. And which girl wouldn't want an extremely handsome man by their elbow?

But she doesn't. It's hard to hate someone whom you fell in love with. Then again, she couldn't have him, which is both good and bad, since him having his attention on Cynthia meant she could go on with her own plans.

"Loosen up, Champion, have a chocolate." Pakura shook her head, offering Ash a chocolate that usually contained a fortune in them. Fortune chocolates, they call it.

"Give me one." Ash took the chocolate from her hands, and took a bite, as a piece of paper containing the fortune fell out of the wrapper. He picked it up, and read it out.

"To make sure something precious never leaves you, sometimes you need to hold on to it…very tightly and never let it out of your sight, so that no one would take it from you." Ash read the fortune out loud. "Sounds legit. But I technically have everything, and there isn't really anything I would hold onto that tightly, except my Pokémon, but why would they desert me?" Ash asked Pakura, who shrugged.

"Won't you hold on to someone you love like that too?" Pakura asked. "That is, if they try to leave you, and you aren't ready to let them go."

"Yeah, but I doubt I'm desperate enough to hold on to Cynthia like that." Ash gave a slight smile. "Besides, why would she try to leave me?"

'If I have to hear that name one more time...' Pakura thought, but merely took a fortune chocolate and ate it, though the sweet taste was too much for her, and she downed it with water.

'Your captor or your lover? You choose, because either way, your freedom will be severely limited once your secrets are exposed.' Pakura silent read the fortune in her head. 'Crap, the fortunes were never wrong. But what did they mean by my freedom will be severely limited?'

One thing is for sure, though: As long as no one knows her secrets, her freedom will still be there. But how does she make sure no one finds out?

An answer came to her, and she sighed. She didn't actually care about her own Elite members, especially Rosaline since she is the weakest link, but she did take a liking to the Champion, but he's in love with the Sinnoh Champion. And then there was Rosaline's prophecy she had made a long time ago (she was the only one who heard since she was the only one there with her when she made it) made Pakura think it was doomed love from the beginning.

"What's your fortune?" Ash asked.

"Not telling." Pakura stuck out her tongue, as she pocketed her fortune.

"Fine, don't tell me, but I'll find out somehow." Ash warned her, but she caught the glint in his eye, and Pakura supressed a small smile.

"What's on your mind right now?" Ash enquired, seeing Pakura hadn't said much.

"Nothing much." Pakura answered. "So how did your research go? Did you find anything significant?"

Ash nodded. "Oh yeah, I found out about a boy. His name was Shiki Kurobane." At that, Pakura jolted slightly, but otherwise didn't give a reaction.

"What about him?" Pakura asked.

"He's like me in the sense that he won six Pokémon Conferences." Ash answered. "Apparently, he and Lance were childhood friends, so I can safely assume he is from Blackthorn City."

"Or he could be someone who is born somewhere else and moved to Blackthorn." Pakura muttered.

"You have a point, but Lance said he was rebellious towards their own Elders." Ash shrugged. "They let him off since he's a gifted prodigy. I think the letter may be from him." He waved the letter Lance dropped.

"Maybe, but you'll need more information to confirm that." Pakura frowned.

"I'm going to find out more information about this Shiki Kurobane person." Ash told her. "But meanwhile, could you help me with humiliating Max? I noticed he had his eye on you…"

* * *

Pakura yawned, as she checked the list of Performers who would be competing in the Interregional Pokémon Showcase, where the winner gets a Princess Key that can be used in any region's Master Class Tournament, and of course, the right to challenge the PAL Duchess or the Kalos Queen for their title (though Pakura knew she had the higher chance of being chosen).

The Pokémon Showcase itself was going to last a few days since they were going to choose 32 Performers to advance to the next round, as the Perfumers were divided into 32 groups. The 32 Performers would be chosen in a course of two days (The theme performances for the two days would be different so that competitors from Day 1 could not pass on the information for those competing in Day 2, as she felt it might give them a distinctly unfair advantage) by Aria and herself after evaluating their performances in the Theme Performance stage.

However, should they have different opinions on who should move on, they would automatically follow Pakura's opinion since she was the more experienced one, though Aria will have an influence on her decision.

For the remaining 32 competing Performers, they would be competing in Free Performance Rounds, where they would be paired up with another Performer, and they would be called onto the stage one at a time to perform. At the end of the two performances, whoever has more votes in the pair would move on to the next round.

She stopped when she saw a crowd around the Plaza Hotel, and saw a girl dressed in purple emerge from the entrance, and the crowd cheered when they saw her. Pakura had the impression she was from a rich family by the way she dressed, and the fact that she had assistants next to her confirmed it. Pakura looked down at the list she had the moment he heard one of them call her Amelia, and sure enough, her name was among the participants.

"There's something about her that makes me think she's just a snobby, spoilt rich girl." Pakura's lips curled in disdain.

" **Indeed."** Sylveon flicked her tail in agreement, watching the girl go off, presumably to train for the upcoming Showcase.

"Her popularity with people from her hometown won't help her in this case. After all, the whole of the PAL Region would be voting during the Free Performance section…that is, if she even makes it." Pakura shook her head, as she walked past the admiring crowd, and someone approached her. She glared at them to make sure they don't come too close.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Pakura asked coolly.

"You see, there is a participant I'd like you to meet. She just left here." A man took out a photograph of the same girl she saw earlier while hidden among the trees. When Pakura looked at the photo, she merely thought she was right, there is something haughty about the girl.

"And who is she?" Pakura asked them, much to their chagrin. Then again, she wasn't from Fleurrh City, so why would she know her? She isn't exactly famous outside of her hometown.

"She's the daughter of a prestigious family in Fleurrh City, and has completed lessons in various fields with excellent grades. She'll love it if you would mentor her…" The woman was cut off when Pakura held up a hand.

"First of all, I don't take in students." Pakura said icily. "Besides, I am evaluating the Performers based on how they perform on stage at the moment, not how they performed in the past. Her excellent grades in the lessons she completed isn't going to help her….if the lessons even have anything to do with Pokémon Performing, that is."

With that, she went on her way, leaving a taken aback Fleurrh City crowd of residents behind. She definitely need a drink.

* * *

Ash was sitting with his friends at a table in a quiet café called the Coffee Cave. Good thing about this café was if they got a seat at the upper floor, they have a good view of what is happening outside. What is more, they can open and close the window any time they want, and even draw the curtains.

"How did your battles go?" Ash asked Gary and Paul.

"I definitely pulverized Max. He depends on his Gallade a lot." Paul commented, disapproval lacing his voice. "He can't even knock out one of my Pokémon."

"I showed Trip not to underestimate Gym Leaders. Especially one without a type specialty." Gary gave a smirk. "It's true he did get eight badges from the Kanto region to get into the Indigo League, but he never faced my Gym." Everyone laughed at that.

"Ken and Barbie alert at 5 o'clock." Paul commented. "Literally."

Ash looked down and raised his eyebrows when he saw Ken and Dawn walking together towards the outdoor ATM machine directly beneath the café.

"Are they-?" Ash pointed to the two. Kenny had his arm around Dawn's waist, and her fingers were slipped through his. It is definitely not what friends would do. The two of them were canoodling, oblivious to the fact that they were in public, and that people sitting above them wouldn't want to see them kissing.

"Oh please. Kenny here has always had a crush on Dawn. They got together a few years ago." Paul scoffed. "I doubt Dawn is loyal to him, though. I've seen her make goo-goo eyes at other men that caught her attention, especially you."

"Really?" Ash said to Paul.

"Don't tell me you didn't notice." Tracey sighed in exasperation.

"He's dense, remember?" Gary snickered, causing Ash to throw a sugar packet at him.

"Do you know if he likes her for her, or for her looks? She's like a Barbie doll." Ash frowned, as he craned his neck over the windowsill, but they had ducked beneath them so that Kenny could use the cash machine. All he could see was some of Dawn's hair.

"Barbie doll is right. I read an article once on the fact that she she had plastic surgery, to enhance her body shape. Especially on the chest area." Paul said thoughtfully.

"Where did you hear that?" Ash was intrigued.

"There is something about it in Coordinator's Monthly." Tracey answered.

"I didn't know you read these types of magazine." Ash looked at his friends.

"We usually don't. But sometimes, while waiting for our Pokémon to be healed…you know what I mean." Gary shrugged. "Speaking of which…Red, what are you doing?" They avoided calling him by his real name in public, otherwise someone may here and he'd be called out in an instant.

Ash stopped shaking the sugar packets he'd torn open over the windowsill, and looked at his childhood friend innocently. "Nothing."

"Clearly, by the looks of it, you're not doing nothing. You're most definitely doing something. What it looks like you're doing is pouring packets of sugar on Dawn's head." Tracey shook his head at the obvious lie.

"Shh." Ash hushed them. "It's snowing, but only on Dawn." Ash shook more sugar out of the packets. "Merry Christmas to her, I suppose…not."

Gary started cracking up, and Ash had to make him keep quiet as Tracey saw his sugar supply running low, and handed him more packet to keep the snow effect.

"Be quiet. Don't ruin this beautiful moment for the couple." Ash warned Tracey, as he sprinkled more sugar over the windowsill.

"Hey!" Dawn's voice, which sounded noticeably irritated, floated up to them. "What's in my hair? Eww! Get them off!" She started shaking out her hair.

Ash closed the window and closed the curtains, but leaving a small space to peek through to spy on them. He is doing this so that Dawn wouldn't be able to see them if she realized what was happening and looked up. The other three were sporting wide grins, it's just too hard not to laugh.

"What's the matter, Dee Dee?" Ash watched as Kenny came out from beneath the café shelter, placing his wallet in his back pants pocket.

"Something's in my hair." Dawn replied, still fluffing out her hair, which Ash knew she would not want to do, since she blow-dried it so straight.

Kenny leaned closer to check her hair, and commented, "Looks alright to me."

That just made them laugh harder, and they actually had to cover their mouths to muffle it, least they disturbed the other customers.

"Well." Dawn said, with one last shake of her perfectly straight locks. "You're right, I guess. Come on, let's go." With that, they walked away.

Once they were gone, Ash opened the curtains again, and all of them started laughing more openly, but not loud enough to attract the other customers' attention.

"The look on her face…priceless!" Paul laughed, wiping tears from his eyes.

"May I take your orders?" That's what Regina, their waitress, wanted to know, coming over to wipe down their table, as she apparently noticed all the sugar Ash spilt on it.

"Oh sure. I'll have Candy Liquorice Latte." Tracey said.

Ash ordered the Ice Blended Mocha Coffee, which was a blend of coffee and chocolate. Gary on the other hand ordered a Happy Face Latte, and Paul ordered Orange and Mango Coffee. They agreed to order a mini strawberry luxurious cake, which was made of fresh sponge cake smothered with strawberry icing, topped with ripe strawberries.

"Well, Dawn's always concerned about her hair back then." Ash shrugged, while waiting for their orders. "Nice to know she still does. Paku has much better hair."

"Oh? And how is Pakura, your future girlfriend?" Gary asked.

"She's not my future girlfriend. We're just friends." Ash glared at him.

"Of course she's not." Tracey said. Ash was about to give him a grateful look, until he said, "Because she's your future wife!"

"Even better!" Paul sniggered. "Give us invites to the wedding, won't you?"

Ash knew every other girl he met, had a single goal in mind- to become the chatelaine of the Elite Manor, and become the Prince's Consort. While Ash had nothing against the institution of marriage, he had never really met someone whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and that included even the love of his life, Cynthia.

"Really, Ash, I know you might have marriage plans with Cynthia, but let me tell you a story I had heard. There was this little girl who had adopted a Skitty named Valentia from her hometown's Pound, since everyone had said she was such a fantastic Skitty, and she knew Valentia was a great Skitty too." Paul told him.

"She was a great Skitty…on paper, that is." Gary added. "Even though on paper she was advertised to be a fantastic Skitty, the little girl just couldn't click with this Valentia, and was unable to sense what Valentia was trying to say to her, which lead to her being a little disobedient. Eventually, the girl just dumped Valentia back into the Pound, because it wasn't fair to Valentia since the girl just played with other Pokémon her family had."

'What does that got to do with me?' Ash thought, but was interrupted when their orders came. While they were eating, Ash saw Rosaline and Siebold take a table which was a few tables away from them.

"I mean, I did start this myself, if you think about it." Rosaline said.

"But they must have seen some potential, otherwise, they wouldn't have complied." Siebold assured her, as a waitress took their orders.

Rosaline shook her head. "No, I was too stubborn back then. Pakura only gave me a chance in hopes that the Hunter Exam would kill me. She regretted that she didn't kill me on the spot when I had the gall to ask for two more chances that I never deserved."

"She what?" Siebold was shocked.

"Does Pakura have something against Rosaline?" Paul asked Ash.

"I'll have something against her too, if I have to put up with her begging for two more chances and the fact that she thought the spot had her name on it." Ash replied grimly. "But it's none of our business."

"At least she's honest about how she feels about me." Rosaline said glumly, as the waitress asked the two what they wanted.

"Even I don't know what my teammates think, since we are the most divided Elite Four and Champion because each of us usually act on our own agenda. I could tell that they were not pleased with me though because technically I did start this problem, and this time I have to help myself." Rosaline sighed, as her Espeon rubbed her head against her leg in comfort.

"You want the public to acknowledge you as part of the Elite Four of this region, am I right?" Siebold asked softly.

"Yes." Rosaline nodded. "But my chances were diminished the moment the article came out, and even my family thinks the fame and authority of being this region's Elite Four member got to my head. If the Dragon Duo were here, they'd be extremely disappointed when they look at me."

"They would, alright." Ash spoke up, loud enough for the customers sitting immediately around them to hear. Rosaline and Siebold looked up to see the four of them sitting at another table, clearly eavesdropping.

"Champion Red!" Rosaline exclaimed, just as the waitress came with their drinks.

"If you just sit there and complain, obviously you wold never prove yourself worthy of even the weakest Elite member." Ash scoffed. "I thought I'd hear about your progress, but what do I see? A spoilt girl bewailing at the way things were going ever since the life-ruining article came out, which you were right, it was your fault for starting this. What would Paku say if she heard about it?"

Rosaline kept quiet, while Siebold said, "Stop tormenting her! Don't you think she had enough?"

"When I say she is spoilt, she is because she proved herself by demanding more chances, when she should have succeeded at the first chance, and she wasted two chances just because she thought all she needed was to win the Trainer's Tournament, and applied shortly after she won. I am surprised they even bothered to give you more chances when they knew that you weren't even a Hunter at the time of your application." Ash cut him off. "What is more, she used type advantage as an excuse, which is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard in my life." He hasn't said any of his words with any particular malice- quite the contrary, his words were very matter-of-fact.

Rosaline looked down on the floor, apparently ashamed of herself.

"Rosaline, let me just tell you frankly, that you'll never be to beat the Dragon Duo in terms of psychic powers if you keep talking and no action is taken." Ash shook his head.

"Yes, Champion." Rosaline said, giving Siebold a look that said he should not interfere.

"Your performance today was not exactly spectacular, since Falkner is the weakest Gym Leader in Johto, and Paku wiped out the strongest Elite Four member in Hoenn." He went on, as he took a bite of his slice of cake. "Just to let you know, even if Paku wants you to stay, I can kick you out, since I have higher authority than her. So better convince me you are worth it."

"I'll do my best." Rosaline replied, just as Siebold said, "Rosaline, why don't I help you train? My type specialty does have an advantage over your Fire types after all. That way you might catch up to Jude, since he's also a Water type specialist."

"Great idea." Rosaline nodded, smiling. With that thought, they had their orders on takeaway, and leaving, but not before Rosaline said to Ash, "See you later."

"That was harsh, Red." Gary frowned.

"I don't know. He never said any of his words with a mocking tone. It was more formal and business-like, like a teacher reviewing facts to their students, you know." Paul replied. "Tell me honestly. Do you want the girl to stay?"

"She must be of some value to the Elite, otherwise Paku herself wouldn't have bothered to give her another chance, or let her live for the matter. Seeing her only adds to my question of why she is here as an Elite member." Ash replied. "I myself would have wanted one of the Dragon Duo members to be part of the Elite, and become the Psychic specialist. But I trust Paku's judgement when she let the girl have more chances."

"Do you hate her for that?" Tracey asked Ash.

"No." Ash answered honestly. "Frankly, it shouldn't be my business, since she became Elite member a year before I became Champion. I also know we don't need someone who complains in the team. Besides, what does she have to complain about? She's the only one with a normal life before she came here."

"Do you know what happened to the others before they became Elite?" Tracey asked.

"I had a summarized version for Jude and Phillip. As for Paku, I didn't know since she never told us, but she did mention something about how she did not wish to speak of it, and we didn't probe, in case it dredged up painful memories. Sometimes, it's better not to bring things up." Ash sipped his Ice Blended Mocha Coffee. "Rosaline should know that I am not afraid to sacrifice even myself for the good of my country, so she should know I'll take the risk of having only three members if it is clear that she is bringing down the team."

'This is getting way too patriotic.' Gary thought, but thankfully Ash decided to change the subject.

* * *

Pakura yawned, as she sat up the tree with her Sylveon and Skitty, using a portable television shaped like a Skitty's head (which could actually tune in to whatever show you want), watching the Rookie Class Showcases that happened in the Kalos Region, to better know about the competitors and what they could do.

" **Did any of them make an impression on you?"** Sylveon asked.

Pakura lowered the cap she was wearing (it's a fairly sunny day), and replied, "Nope. Although I heard that Palermo, Kalos Queen Aria's mentor, has taken up a student named Serena. And being offered to become a student under her is a huge honour, since she is a famous producer who has produced many famous Pokémon Performers. Aria says she might be worth looking out for, and like me, she owns a Sylveon."

" **Were you her student before?"** Skitty asked.

" **No, that was because Palermo chose to mentor someone else at that time, whom she felt had the potential and the passion to become Kalos Queen, and that Performer was thought to be the one to become the next Kalos Queen."** Sylveon explained. **"It turned out as a surprise when Pakura beat her during the Master Class, securing her the Kalos Queen title."**

"I prefer to do things alone." Pakura shrugged. "That girl lacked something anyway, so it wasn't very difficult to beat her in the Finals. I never actually met Palermo in person when I was in Kalos." She sipped her Strawberry Butter Tea she bought earlier. The tea was a strong brew infused with strawberries and butter, hence the name. It also came with chocolate dipping sticks.

Pakura heard something, and looked down to see a Dark Pulse, Flamethrower and Swift combination which lead to many stars being outlined in either orange or dark purple, before a Fairy Wind destroyed it, causing sparkles to rain all over.

"Good work, everyone!" A short-haired girl complimented. She walked over, opening her basket of Poképuffs for her Braixen, Pancham and her Sylveon. Apparently, they had been practicing for the upcoming Interregional Pokémon Showcase.

'Is that the Serena girl Aria was talking about?' Pakura thought, looking at the Sylveon.

" **Her Poképuffs look plain."** Sylveon commented, just as a Pokéball opened, and before Pakura could stop her, Eevee jumped down the tree, and snatched a Poképuff from the Pancham.

" **Hey, give it back!"** The Pancham cried, but Eevee had already consumed it, and jumped up a tree branch at the tree next to where Pakura was resting, out of range of the angry Pokémon, though Sylveon looked a little curious, since Eevee was her pre-evolution.

" **Tastes rather plain too compared to yours."** Eevee remarked to her owner.

Before anyone could reply, Pakura spoke up. "Eevee, please stop eating other people's Poképuffs. Remember you're no longer a wild Pokémon fighting for survival." Serena and her Pokémon were looking for the source of the voice, before her Sylveon noticed her Eevee jump towards the other tree, and the Sylveon catching the Eevee, before passing her to the trainer. She pointed her feeler, saying, **"Over there!"**

Pakura stood on the branch, followed suit by her Pokémon, and all three of them (Pakura is carrying the Eevee) leapt off the branch, and landed on the grass patch gracefully.

"I'm very sorry about my Eevee. I recently caught her, and she's a little hyperactive." Pakura said smoothly. "By the way, quite a show you got there, Performer Serena."

"Who are you?" Serena asked. "And how do you know my name?"

"My name isn't important." Pakura lowered her head, and the shadow of her cap concealed her face. "As for how I know your name, let's just say I study my competition." However, there was the way she lingered on the word "competition", and it did not go unnoticed.

"You're competing too?" Serena enquired.

" **Serena! She's not competing! Couldn't you tell by her tone?"** Braixen said.

"You have a very perspective Braixen there." Pakura nodded.

" **You understand me?"** Braixen gasped, and Pakura shrugged in response.

"What are you talking about?" Serena was rather wary.

"Your Braixen knows that I am not competing in the Interregional Pokémon Showcase." Pakura answered. "I understand what Pokémon are saying."

"Then what..." Serena started, but Pakura said, "However, I need to know about the Performers in order to pick the most talented to win the Pokémon Showcase. Don't worry, you'll figure out my role in the Pokémon Showcase soon."

Serena, though unsure, nodded, and then noticed her Sylveon staring Pakura's Sylveon down. Serena's Sylveon seemed to be glaring, while Pakura's regarded her coolly.

" **You shouldn't be underestimating me."** Serena's Sylveon said.

" **I am not, since you and your owner's bond was enough for you to evolve into a Sylveon like me."** Pakura's Sylveon replied. **"However, I'd win out in terms of experience because…"**

"Why are you comparing yourself to her Sylveon? Her trainer's a Performer, not a battler or a Coordinator." Pakura turned to her partner, cutting Sylveon's words.

" **But you're a Performer too."** Sylveon pointed out.

" **Serena! Let me battle her!"** Serena's Sylveon turned to her.

"Your Sylveon says she wants to battle my Sylveon." Pakura translated. "But I won't advise it. Sylveon is one of my strongest Pokémon after all."

"Please have a battle with me!" Serena requested. "I could gain some experience."

"Very well then." Pakura nodded. "You may have the first move."

"Sylveon, let's start off with Fairy Wind!" Serena commanded.

"You use Fairy Wind too." Pakura said to her partner.

As the Fairy Winds clashed, Serena was shocked. "They're even?"

"Look closely." Pakura replied, as her Sylveon's Fairy Wind overpowered Serena's Sylveon's. Serena's Sylveon was eventually pushed back and damaged.

"Are you alright?" Serena asked her Sylveon, who replied with, **"I'm fine."**

"Use Swift!" Serena ordered.

"Dodge it." Pakura nodded to Sylveon, who perfectly dodged it with grace.

"What elegance." Serena admired. "Are you a Performer?"

"Yes, I happen to be one." Pakura replied. "I started my Performing career in Kalos."

Serena did not have time to ponder on who Pakura might be, seeing as she had watched previous Master Class Tournaments to get inspiration for her performance, as Pakura said "Sylveon, use Iron Tail."

"Dodge!" Serena called out wildly, and Serena's Sylveon made use of her dance moves to dodge the Iron Tail. Pakura noted that her Sylveon had lovely dance steps.

"Catch hold of it." Pakura's Sylveon used her ribbons to grab hold of Serena's Sylveon's leg in mid-jump, causing her to crash to the ground.

"Now, use Toxic." Pakura commanded, and with that, Serena's Sylveon was badly poisoned.

"Sylveon, Double Team!" Her Sylveon created copies of herself to confuse the opponent. However, Pakura sighed, and told Sylveon to use Moonblast on the Sylveon to her right. Sure enough, that turned out to be the real Sylveon.

"Use Fairy Wind, once more!" Serena cried, knowing her Sylveon was already on her last legs.

"Dig, and then Dazzling Gleam." Sylveon dug to the ground to avoid the Fairy Wind (which actually blew Pakura's cap off), and she came out near Serena's Sylveon, attacking with Dazzling Gleam. With that, Serena's Sylveon fainted.

"The way your Sylveon executes the moves looks great. I could sense your passion during the battle." Pakura straightened up, as Serena saw her face and gasped when she recognized her.

"You are…Pakura…Ameyuri?" Serena was at a loss of words when she realized she was in the presence of another former Kalos Queen, and the current PAL Duchess. Everyone said she was the most brilliant Performer in the Showcase world, and she was labelled as a Legendary Performer. What is more, Serena had heard she was also a Legendary Coordinator and one of the stronger Elite Four members in the region.

No wonder she said it was not advisable to battle her, she is an Elite Four member, and everyone knows her signature Pokémon is a Sylveon, which is the one next to her right now.

"Stop gaping. Here, spray this on your Sylveon." Pakura tossed a Full Restore to her, and Serena proceeded to spray it on her Sylveon to cure her.

While she was spraying, she said, "You're going to be a judge for the Pokémon Showcase."

"Yes." Pakura confirmed. "With the battle earlier, I can see why Aria speaks highly of you and why Palermo, the former Kalos Queen, chose to tutor you. Don't disappoint me."

"I won't." Serena replied, as her Sylveon opened her eyes, and the poison was now out of her body. Serena turned to thank her for the Full Restore, but Pakura and her Pokémon were already gone.

Later in the Pokémon Center, Pakura was seen in the middle of a video call to Aria. She said, "You're right. Serena might be someone worth taking a special notice of. Her Sylveon's dance is dazzling."

* * *

Ash was on the way back to the library to research more on the Dragon Duo, the Paradinight family and the effects of the Scarlet Anger, when he detected the fact that there is a Pokémon battle going on that is making use of Mega Evolution. While it's true he has mastered the art of Mega Evolution and learnt the secret behind it, there is no telling what else he doesn't know.

An explosion got Ash turning his head, and he headed towards the direction where the battle was most likely taking place. Sure enough, two trainers were at a battlefield battling with their Mega Evolved Pokémon, a Mega Blaziken and a Mega Charizard. He realized that Rosaline was battling a trainer, and he also recognized her opponent.

" **Isn't that Alain?"** Pikachu pointed to the trainer. It also looked like Siebold was refereeing the match.

"Yeah." Ash leaned against the railing. He had met Alain while travelling with Pakura in the Kalos Region, their first destination. He remembered that Alain had once worked for Team Flare, but it was only because he wanted to save a girl's Chespin and help the girl smile again. He believed that helping Team Flare would save the Chespin, but he realized he was wrong. That was when Pakura revealed her ability to heal Pokémon, and saved the Chespin herself. Kalos was also the first region where Ash made his first kill to save the region.

While Ash was in Kalos, he had heard Alain had won against Kalos Elite Four Malva in a Mega Evolution battle, which was quite a feat. He had actually never battled Alain himself since he didn't have access to Mega Evolution back then (he was only given it by Pakura when he won the Kalos League). Pakura did, since Alain challenged her after seeing her Key Stone on her neck. Pakura did say it was inadvisable to do so, but gave in when he insisted.

Ash had refereed that battle, and was surprised to see Pakura beat Alain within three moves with her Mega Mawile despite her type disadvantage, which made Ash suspect there is something more to Pakura other than being a former Kalos Queen and a Top Coordinator (while travelling with him, she decided to participate in Pokémon Contests and the Grand Festival, and won every single one of them), and his suspicion was confirmed when she revealed she was the strongest trainer in the PAL Region, hence his decision to travel to PAL to try and take on the Elite challenge and become the first Champion.

"Charizard, use Steel Wing!" Alain commanded.

"Blaziken, counter with Aerial Ace!" Rosaline countered. The two attacks clashed, Rosaline one trick up her sleeve. "Use Poison Jab!" The Poison Jab damaged Mega Charizard, pushing it back. What was more, Mega Charizard was also poisoned.

"Now, use Close Combat!" Rosaline took this chance to attack.

"Counter with Thunder Punch!" The two engaged in what looked like hand-to-hand combat as the two attempted to hit the other with their attacks. Eventually, the two hit each other on the face with their attacks, and Alain called for a Shadow Claw. That hit Mega Blaziken, and he was pushed back. However, Rosaline wasn't about to give up, and ordered Mega Blaziken to use Brave Bird, and Alain met the attack head on with Blast Burn.

There was a huge explosion, and when the smoke cleared, both of them were staring each other down, before Mega Charizard fell, and reverted back to normal.

Siebold looked at the fallen Charizard, before announcing, "Charizard is unable to battle! Which means, Rosaline is the winner." However, after the announcement, Mega Blaziken collapsed, and the Mega Evolution wore off as well.

"Good work, Blaziken." Rosaline returned her Blaziken, and pocketed the Pokéball. "As I thought, I am nothing compared to the others." Rosaline heaved a sigh. "If Alain's Charizard held on a little longer, I would have lost."

"Alain did defeat Malva after all, who is a Fire-type specialist like you." Siebold comforted her. "You performed well even with your confidence wavered."

"Let's have a rematch sometime." Alain offered his hand, and Rosaline took it, using it to help herself stand up.

"Thanks for the battle." Rosaline replied, giving a smile. "You are a great opponent."

" **What do you think?"** Lucario asked Ash.

"At least she realized her big victory on the Trainer's Tournament went over her head and she became overconfident that she could take us on." Ash replied. "In that Elite challenge, I actually used the least Pokémon against her." He remembered he only had to use two against her, while for Jude he used three, and Phillip he used four.

" **I'm sure she can handle this problem herself."** Pikachu remarked, referring to the article.

"She'd better. Otherwise, she'll wish she never joined us." Ash muttered. "Come on, let's get back to research."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Alain asked, when he saw Steven inside the Pokémon Center on his way to ask Nurse Joy to heal his Charizard.

"Waiting for Nurse Joy to heal my Pokémon. Just had a battle, and lost." Steven replied. "You?"

"Just had a battle with Elite Rosaline. I narrowly lost." Alain shrugged. "Don't ask me where Mairin went."

"You're not worried about her?" Steven raised his eyebrow.

"She'll find her way back. It's her luck." Alain waved it off. "So what battle did you have?"

"It was one of the most embarrassing loss ever." Steven admitted. "We had the advantage when it came to numbers, but we were still beaten."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'we'?" Alain was incredulous.

"Yeah, I was battling Princess Pakura alongside Lance and Cynthia. We had three Pokémon each and used them all, but she only had two Pokémon out, and stuck to them throughout the duration of the battle." Steven explained.

"And you still lost?" Alain was somewhat amused.

"We underestimated her. Apparently she can Mega Evolve two Pokémon simultaneously." Steven muttered.

"Are you serious?" Alain was intrigued. He would definitely need to have a rematch with her to see for himself. Champion Steven was strong, yes, since he did battle him before and his Metagross could withstand powerful attacks, including ones that are super-effective, such as his Mega Charizard's Blast Burn.

Then again, that may explain why Pakura is the strongest Elite member, just behind the Champion. He couldn't imagine the power Champion Red has now, considering he defeated Pakura, since he remembered him as the quiet boy Pakura was travelling with in Kalos around five years ago.

Steven nodded. "I lost despite my type advantage. The power of her Pokémon is scary, and I doubt she went all out against us."

"If Professor Sycamore hears this, he's be tripping over himself to study the Mega Evolution she possesses." Alain commented. "He would think there is something different about hers. Although the chance of the girl agreeing to lend her Key Stone to him would be the same as us finding the Dragon Duo."

"Why would you want to find them? You're not exactly a Dragon-type specialist." Steven shot him a funny look.

"No I am not." Alain agreed. "But look at this." He shoved a magazine at Steven, and Steven saw that in the middle of the magazine was a poster of the Dragon Duo themselves, and behind them were a Mega Latias and a Mega Latios.

"The Eon Duo are definitely theirs. They had Mega Evolved them during the second Quarter Anniversary," Alain confirmed. "I'd like a battle with a Mega Evolved Legendary Pokémon."

Steven nodded. "That is if you can find them. They did vanish like six years ago. Well, I didn't really expect to win against Pakura, since I heard only one person has ever defeated that Gardevoir, and that was the PAL Champion. Maybe the PAL Champion himself can Mega Evolve Legendary Pokémon, who knows?"

Meanwhile, back in the cave, the Dragon Princess had deactivated her clairvoyance ability, and had heard the conversation between him and Alain from Steven's point of view. Of course, so many people are trying to find them for a battle, and that included the other Dragon specialists as well.

The Dragon Princess sighed. The Dragon Prince was a prodigy among psychics, she mused, having intense psychic powers, and also having knowledge of how the region works, and was an excellent Blacklist Hunter. His battling skills and power exceeds that of their own Psychic specialist Rosaline, who is expected to assume the title of the strongest psychic.

That was why she is planning to get rid of Rosaline so that he can take her place as their Psychic specialist. She would never accept that Rosaline is the Psychic specialist of the PAL Elite Four. Rosaline basically ruined everything that they had set out to create. How is Rosaline going to bear the burden of Princess if anything happens to the current Princess herself if she doesn't know how the region works, and the responsibilities she must bear?

The Dragon Princess watched the recap of the match as Rosaline battled Falkner. Sure, she wiped all his Pokémon out with one, but the opponent in question is the weakest Gym Leader of the Johto region. No, she was nothing compared to the other three members of the Elite, and forget about comparing her to the stronger members, such as Phillip. Seriously, the region has no time for losers.

The Dragon Princess popped out a couple of antidepressants, and downed it with a glass of wine.

" **Drinking is not good for you."** Latias frowned.

"My days are already numbered." The Dragon Princess waved her off, indicating her red eyes. "I'll enjoy life to the best I can, while I still can."

" **And resurrect the Dragon Prince?"** Espeon asked quietly.

"Of course. He's going to replace her as the Psychic specialist, and I'm sure he'll rise to the position of the Elite Leader soon enough. I did not train the power to give my life force to bring one dead person back to life for nothing you know." The Dragon Princess explained.

" **But if it fails, you'll die, and he'll remain dead!"** Goodra whimpered.

"Won't hurt to try, since my life is almost gone." The Dragon Princess shrugged. "If I fail, I trust you all to take care of yourselves." The Dragon Princess was aware of the fact that the Scarlet Anger was eating away at her emotions and distorting her memories, making her unable to tell what is real and what wasn't. Two ribbons wrapped around her, and the Dragon Princess looked down to see her very first Pokémon, her Sylveon, looking up at her with sadness and concern.

"I trust you'll take care of everyone when I'm gone." The Dragon Princess crouched down, and cupped Sylveon's cheek with her free hand.

" **But what about Ash?"** Eevee asked, having let herself out of the Pokéball that once contained Annie's Espeon.

"I believe Ash can take care of himself, after all he has amply proved that over the years. I said I'd be there until he doesn't need me. I can't waste my time pining after him. Besides, I should've known it was hopeless from the beginning." The Dragon Princess replied dismissively, as she dropped the illusion of her amethyst eyes she wore in public which revealed her scarlet eyes.

The Dragon Princess sighed, and continued, "I'd either die on my own or Ash would eventually come down to kill me because I'm the one he's after, but he doesn't know it yet. Unfortunately, Rosaline would take over as Princess when I die. She absolutely cannot be the Princess. For the future of our region, I will have to take her out. Once I do, I'm sure the others can take over where I left off."

'Well said, Amethyst Paradinight.' Giratina's voice was suddenly in her head. 'Or should I say…Pakura Ameyuri?'

Pakura narrowed her eyes, but she set out of the cave, putting on her illusion of amethyst eyes, her Sylveon and Eevee following after her.

'I'll show that PAL Elite wannabe that the Dragon Duo is not one to be messed with.' Pakura thought.

 **BP: Read below, it's important.**

 ***Sigh* I don't know what to feel at this point, really. I mean mysterypink98 was my best friend and it looked like she has all but forgotten about me. But, the story has to go on. Unfortunately, school would start soon, so I would not be able to update at my regular pace. I seek your understanding in this one.**

 **So, uh, for my plans, it's either Ash finds out before Top 16 or after Top 16, like in the FS (stands for First Story, I use this term to refer to the PAL Chronicles). On one hand, Ash would have more time to win Pakura back (it won't be easy for him to win her back, that's for sure), but on the other hand, finding out after Top 16 would have the "Phew, just in time" effect like in the FS. Please tell me if you want:**

 **A: Let Ash find out before Top 16 happens. He is smarter in this story, and this also means more Ash x Pakura moments! It'll also mean Ash has more time to help Pakura and try to win her love back. It'll be funny to see Cynthia try to win Ash after that.**

 **B: Find out after Top 16. I mean, it'd be interesting to see more of the 'rivalry' Cynthia has with Pakura over their love for Ash, although Pakura's seems to be wavering.**

 **Do you want the three Elites to confront Pakura on the spot and she take them down before Ash confronts her, or would you like Pakura to take the three down individually on separate occasions (landing them in hospital), and Ash confronting her subsequently?**

 **A: Let Pakura fight them all at once before she confronts Ash afterward like in FS. That'll weaken her enough for Ash to take her down….or maybe not.**

 **B: Pakura to take them down one at a time, and Ash confronting her subsequently afterward. That'll allow more battle screen time for the ultimate confrontation between the two, and Pakura would also put up a good fight before being taken down.**

 **Do tell me what you want, since it's important for the future chapters!**

 **Oh, there is also a story I was thinking of writing alongside Heartsong Symphony.**

 **Title: Ashura Kurobane: The Kanto Journey**

 **Summary: What if Ash was raised by the current Princess and Prince of PAL, who is also known as the Dragon Duo? Meet Ashura Red Satoshi Kurobane, who inherited his parents' love for Pokémon, and the desire to protect them from any harm and danger.**

 **However, the Kurobane couple is a rather eccentric but very wealthy and politically powerful pair who delight in the macabre in humans as they were also professional assassins and the fact that both of them did not have proper upbringing as well when they were children, they were not the best at knowing what to teach a child, and ended up teaching Ash twisted things when he was growing up, besides training him in aura and psychic powers. Like how to get your revenge (read kill) without getting caught, and never trust anyone, as even the seemingly good side has darkness hidden within it.**

 **Spending time with the other members of the PAL Elite Four while growing up did not help either, as the PAL Elite members also will kill without hesitation to protect their region, and was happy to teach Ash what they knew so he would protect the Pokémon in the other regions.** **They are proud of Ash for the 'wrong' things as well, such as when Ash's plan of a trap worked effectively in killing their target, or when Ash manages to hit his target with a throwing knife.**

 **When Ash starts his Pokémon Journey, they had better watch out. Because Whether or not Ash cares for the good and evil in the world, they can be sure that Ash will be a Pokémon master. And he would do whatever it takes to do so.**

* * *

 **Note: In this story, Ash is much smarter, and can also wield aura (however, his abilities would develop in the journey). He would also be able to wield psychic powers, and is fairly talented at hand-to-hand combat and weapon combat.**

 **Ash will inherit Shiki's noble tendencies and the wish to protect those he cared for. However, because of his upbringing, he would have sadistic tendencies and dark and cold personality (much like Wednesday Addams), and often sport an emotionless expression, and also like to carry hidden weapons with him much like the Dragon Duo.**

* * *

 **Questions to help me get started:**

 **1\. Should Shiki and Amethyst be Ash's biological parents (and they temporarily lived in Pallet Town for some peace), or Ash's real parents died and they took him in, and raised him in Pallet Town to allow Ash to live a "quiet life" before his journey?**

 **A: Shiki and Amethyst to be biological parents. It's be interesting to see what Ash would look like.**

 **B: His real parents died when he was an infant so they took him in and raised him themselves. I like Ash's appearance enough anyway.**

 **2\. Should Shiki be alive? (in this case, they are a married couple)**

 **A: Yes, he should be alive for once. And he should be an Elite Four member, replacing Rosaline in this story. Let him replace Amethyst as the Elite Leader.**

 **B: Nah, keep him dead or away from her. I just like to see Amethyst suffer. And Rosaline should be in the story as an Elite member.**

 **(Look, I didn't tell mysterypink98 that I am going to write this story, so if she finds out I used her character in a story she doesn't know about, who knows what would happen)**

 **3\. Should Ash travel alone or with friends?**

 **A: Alone. If with friends, it's almost as if he can't achieve anything without his travelling companions. He is an independent person anyway, he'll manage without them, since he knows survival skills and how to cook. Besides, I'd like you to bash Misty, because I don't like her.**

 **B: With friends. It'd be interesting to find out how they handle the extremely independent Ash with his dark personality. (But if you choose this you have to tell me if you want Misty in the group)**

 **4\. What Pokémon should Ash have since he was a child?**

 **A: An Eevee. Maybe it evolved before he started his journey (If you choose this, please tell me what Eeveelution you want him to have), and he got another starter from Professor Oak.**

 **B: A Pichu. Evolved into a Pikachu before he started his journey, and Professor Oak gave him another Pokémon, since Ash decided to let the other three have the basic starters.**

 **5\. Should his parents give him access to Mega Evolution before he leaves?**

 **A: Yes! It'll be funny to see them gap in shock at the evolution beyond the evolution.**

 **B: Nah, his parents should withhold it until they feel he is mature enough to have a Key Stone of his own.**

 **6\. Should Ash set his goals to be BOTH a trainer and a Coordinator?**

 **A: Yes! It'll make a nice change, and it'll be interesting to see Ash participate in a Grand Festival.**

 **B: Nah, Pokémon Leagues would do, it's enough.**

 **7\. When Professor Oak gives Ash his second Pokémon, what would you want it to be? (It can be any** **Pokémon except the one Ash has since he was young)**

 **I am thinking of making this an "Ashura Kurobane" series, where he travels the other regions (Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, etc.). What do you think?**

 **Sorry I'm asking too many questions, you know how indecisive I am, and mysterypink98 isn't helping me!**

 **Any questions, please ask via review, PM or comment on my Deviantart post (I have answered a few questions the readers had in Deviantart). I'll collate the questions and answer them in my next Deviantart post.**

 **Here is the votes so far for the travelling companion for Heartsong Symphony:**

 **Pakura: 14 votes**

 **Phillip: 4 votes**

 **Rosaline: 6 votes**

 **Jude: 3 votes**

 **Anyway, do review, favourite and follow!**


	10. The Prince of Two Kingdoms

**BP: I know, it's been way too long since I updated this story, but let me explain: School has started in late April, and at the very first day, they already started giving us assignments (What fun…), and what is worse, they gave us only two weeks to finish, and yeah, school is taking up so much time, I only have the weekend to finish, and when we are starting our first assignments, we are given our SECOND assignment.**

 **Great. So which means, once we hand in our first assignment, we have to start on our second quickly, as we would be left with like two weeks to finish and hand in our second assignment. So, most of my time is dedicated to finishing my schoolwork, and it's frustrating that I have to go to various places to collect observation data as part of my portfolio assignment (Who assigns portfolios as the very first assignment? WHO?)**

 **Anyway, onto the story. It'll be a while before I can update the next chapter, I'm in my Final Year after all.**

 **Ok, I also want to make an announcement: mysterypink98 and I are no longer friends, and we are not speaking anymore. The reason is confidential though. She is no longer going to help out with the Fanfiction Project, so I am by myself this time from now onwards.**

 **Warning: Ace Attorney references, since Phillip is playing the game himself.**

Rosaline was trudging through the forest with her Espeon, deep in thought on her next move. Yes, she had beaten Alain today, but how is she sure that he won't win next time? Her victory was that narrow, which doesn't sit well with her, as she knew Jude and the others would beat him by a mile. Siebold had tried to comfort her that Alain had beaten Malva, an Elite Four member, but she knew that the others would be unimpressed of the victory, especially since it wasn't gotten easily.

She shuddered as she thought of the fact that behind each of them, behind their glamorous life and their noble goals of protecting the region, hides a dark past. True, Rosaline doesn't know what Pakura went through, but she felt that behind Pakura's emotionless eyes lay something malicious. They all do hide the look in their eyes. She saw that in Jude the day he had drowned Lacey, and he was supposed to be one of the nicer ones alongside her.

"So, enjoying our hospitality, Elite Reject?" A somewhat familiar voice called out.

Rosaline and her Espeon turned to see a black-haired girl standing there, fringe combed down to shield her face, with another Espeon next to her. This time, the Espeon is male.

"Who are you?" Rosaline asked suspiciously.

The Dragon Princess did not answer, and continued, "I don't know who you think you are. I mean, a girl who grew up with loving parents, true friends, and lived in a fairly high-class environment, doesn't know first-hand what a real loss is. Knowing of this fact would give you the drive to protect this region. But you don't, and you're only concerned about proving to your bullies that you're the very best. Please, your bullies are nothing compared to Phillip's, but of course, the spoilt girl has to have everything."

Rosaline clenched her fists. She knew that she would run into those who resent the fact that she begged the others for a third chance to get that spot despite wasting two chances to prove herself. Back then, she felt if she gave up, she would never get the spot, and she just had to get it, hence the begging.

 **"Rosa is a great Trainer! You just don't see it!"** Rosaline's Espeon defended her.

 **"Everyone knows she was second choice."** The male Espeon replied dismissively. **"That spot belonged to the Dragon Prince. She's just a second-rate psychic."**

The Dragon Princess nodded, smirking. "You should have become an ordinary regional Elite, and save us the embarrassment."

"I…" Rosaline did not know how to refute this, and resorted to shouting, "Who are you?"

"Who do you think?" Rosaline gasped as she noticed Espeon being lifted up, but not by the girl's Espeon, but by the girl herself. Judging by that, she was a psychic herself, and the fact that she need not use her hands meant that she was at a whole new level. And only one female came to her mind…

"You're the Dragon Princess?" Rosaline was astonished. Now she thought of it, her outfit had the draconic theme about it. However, unlike other Dragon Masters, such as Lance or Clair, she does not sport a cape.

"How dare you ruin what we set to create?" Now, Rosaline was being lifted up as well, and Rosaline gulped, as she knew she had to alert the others. However, a voice in her head was telling her to remove her CommuniDex, and being so compelling, she obeyed the order. Pakura caught the CommuniDex, and with a laugh, crushed it under her fingers, cutting off her means of communication.

"What did you-?" Rosaline realized her CommuniDex was missing, and saw the fragments of her CommuniDex in Pakura's hand. Pakura smirked, and threw her and her Espeon against the tree. Her Espeon tried to slow them down with Psychic, but the male Espeon was faster, and smacked her head with an Iron Tail. Rosaline's Espeon got up, and the two Espeon circled each other, glaring and snarling at each other. Rosaline crashed through a tree, and hit the ground, but got up immediately.

"You obviously have no pride, begging for chances like that. Who do you think you are, thinking yourself above the rules that we, the founders of the Elite Four, made? Why should they give you another chance just because you ask for it?" The Dragon Princess sneered, as she approached Rosaline.

"I think I trained enough to take you on, Dragon Princess." Rosaline replied, though her voice was wavering slightly.

"You are too overconfident of yourself." The Dragon Princess shook her head. "Even after a few years, you're still the weakest link. What is more, you don't listen to our rules, which is rude. No wonder they don't want you in."

"Enough!" Rosaline shouted, and lashed out with her telekinesis. Much to her horror, the Dragon Princess repelled it without even using her hands, and directed it back to her, spending her flying. The telekinetic attack from Rosaline trigged both Espeons to start fighting as well.

"You thought that weak attack can throw me off?" The Dragon Princess laughed, as she approached Rosaline, an icicle in hand. "The other trainers must be so weak, that is why you won."

Rosaline looked down at the icicle. So the Dragon Princess can manipulate ice. Well, she happened to manipulate fire, and everyone knows fire beats ice.

The Dragon Princess, seeing the fireball on her hand, said, "Go ahead and throw that fireball. I doubt you can do much damage."

"We'll see." Rosaline threw it at her, and made it spread around the Dragon Princess, and increased the power of the fire so that she'd be engulfed in the smoke. The Dragon Princess seemed unfazed, however.

"So…I'm supposed to suffocate? Nice work, but…" Rosaline widened her eyes as the Dragon Princess threw her icicle at the fire, and her fire was suddenly frozen and shattered into pieces.

"I thought you would have learnt by now, type advantage is not everything. Or did you not remember how you were crushed by someone who had both types at a disadvantage to your Fire?" The Dragon Princess mocked. "Seriously, having the gall to ask for another chance despite your incompetence being proven? You're the most pathetic person to ever walk the PAL Region!"

The Dragon Princess teleported behind Rosaline, and gave her an extremely strong kick to the stomach, causing Rosaline to cough up some blood, and hit the tree behind her. Rosaline saw the Dragon Princess' Espeon about to fire a Psybeam at her own Espeon, which she thankfully dodged. Rosaline took this opportunity to redirect the Psybeam to the Dragon Princess, who ducked at the last second.

Rosaline took this chance to attack with a volley of fire arrows. The Dragon Princess did a backflip to dodge most of them, but one caught her dress, which she extinguished with her ice. Rosaline made use of the distraction to pin the Dragon Princess with her telekinesis and try to read her mind, only to come up blank.

'How can it be blank?' Rosaline thought in horror. 'And my head hurts too….'

"Come on, Rosaline. Do you really think I wouldn't have prepared something against other wannabe psychics like you? Something called…a Psychic Shield?" The Dragon Princess shook her head. Rosaline answered by create several flaming orbs that resemble small suns, and shot them towards the Dragon Princess. When an orb touched a tree by accident, the tree was incinerated.

"You got some moves." The Dragon Princess commented, as she dodged a Shadow Ball fired by Rosaline's Espeon. Her Espeon retaliated with an Iron Tail to the head, sending Rosaline's Espeon skidding backwards.

Rosaline then attacked with a small volley of fireballs in addition, and concealed some throwing knives in there. The Dragon Princess froze the fireballs, and shattered them, but this was enough for Rosaline to break her arm with an aura-infused chop to the left arm.

The Dragon Princess shook her head, and grinned at the look on Rosaline's face when she was now the one with the broken arm.

"I do have the ability to heal someone. Subsequently, I can transfer injuries as well." The Dragon Princess shook her head, and engaged Rosaline in hand-to-hand combat, which lead to more injuries for Rosaline, as she wasn't very good at close combat, while the Dragon Princess excelled in it.

'I need to keep a distance, and alert the others. She's someone I can't win against.' Rosaline thought, jumping back, only to be caught in mid-air. When she focused her aura on her eyes, she realized the Dragon Princess had set up traps made up of aura threads.

The Dragon Princess forced her to watch as her Espeon overpowered Rosaline's, sending her to the ground battered and bruised. Her Espeon on the other hand, other than a few scratches, seemed fine. Rosaline screamed when she saw her partner fall.

"Someone who neglected their family and only wanted the position of the main regional protector to prove that they are the very best would never amount to anything. Of course, I won't kill you….yet. I need to send a message to Champion Red…or should I say, Champion Ash?" The Dragon Princess smirked, as she returned Rosaline's emotions of despair, causing her to start crying. She took out a gun, aimed it at Rosaline, and said, "Sweet dreams, child."

A shot rang out, and Rosaline's head lowered.

 **"Did you kill her?"** Espeon asked.

"Of course not. By tomorrow, she's be up and about, ready for her match….not without any pain, though. I'd love to see how she goes through tomorrow." Pakura smirked. "But I'll have to make sure she doesn't put the pieces together." With that, she went to modify Rosaline's memories. It's pathetic how easy it was, considering psychics should have natural resistance to other psychic intrusions…to an extent, anyway.

 **"What are we going to do with this one?"** Espeon asked, flicking his tail towards his female counterpart. Pakura frowned at her Espeon, and had an idea. She aimed her aura-infused gun at her forehead, and pulled the trigger.

"Now…" Pakura stomped her foot, and an earthquake triggered, sending trees to fall and crush the duo. While she knew they would not die, she just had to rub salt to the wound, to punish Rosaline for ruining what she and Shiki set out to create.

Pakura grinned at the thought of Rosaline waking up with her modified memories to learn what happened to her Espeon. She'd probably spend a while in the Emergency Ward.

 _"That was quite a lot of damage you did."_ Shiki fell into step beside her. _"I'm proud of you."_

"Thanks." Pakura grinned. "You setting up the traps helped."

 _"We set the traps together. I didn't do it all."_ Shiki hummed. _"Do you think she'll figure out who did this to her?"_

"With her powers as it is? I highly doubt it." Pakura sneered.

 _"You should establish an alibi, pretend you were taking a walk when you found her."_ Shiki suggested.

Pakura nodded, as Shiki had a point. But first, she needs to return to the cave and retrieve her Sylveon and Skitty. She made a bet that her Eevee probably let herself out of her Pokéball again while she was away.

* * *

Ash decided to do more research on Pakura Goldstein, who was the only one who was able to live beyond the age of 30 that is a Scarlet Anger user. Perhaps he would get a better clue on how it works, as if he was not mistaken, she was first bestowed that power at her early-twenties, and she most likely explored the possibilities of what Scarlet Anger can do. Maybe a read-up on her life story would give him a better idea on the type of people that would be given Scarlet Anger by Giratina.

It isn't hard to find books written about her life, as there is a whole section dedicated to it. There were even movies based on her life, and Jude played the role of Natsuhi Davenport, who was her Doubles partner in tennis. Everyone assumed that those two were lovers, though this was not outright confirmed. Much to his amusement, the movie directors had tried to make Pakura play the role of the main character, since she looked a lot like her, but she flatly rejected.

Ash was not surprised at the books and movies made about her, for after all, Pakura Goldstein was the very first Princess (selected by the founder himself) and his Leader mentioned that she was named after the first regional Princess, and said that she was the one that came up with the concept of a group ruling the region in the first place, but only the Dragon Duo went through with the plan, as they had found her diary and she had written down the concept, and their dream of having an Elite Four in the region.

However, they changed it so that the region could have a League Champion and a reigning monarchy at the same time, in order to keep the region's legacy of a principality, and yet having a proper Elite Four and Champion as part of the Pokémon League. Generally, League Champions would have less power than the regional Prince/Princess, but since Ash is the Prince as well as the regional Champion, that rule does not apply to him anyway, and he technically gets more authority as he hold two high authority positions in the region.

What sparked Ash's curiosity even more is that his Leader mentioned that Pakura Goldstein is one of the few people she truly respected and even admired, and he knew by her tone, she was telling the truth.

 _"She sure has the self-discipline. Most people go insane after the first few times using Scarlet Anger. She's a fighter, that one." Pakura said. "I think she might have found a way to prolong her lifespan. The Dark Princess is someone you can't help but respect."_

That statement meant that Paku herself had read the biography, and that Scarlet Anger was mentioned in the life story written about her, and how she coped with it.

Ash selected a book that had the picture of a very beautiful woman with jet black hair and sapphire blue eyes, and she was in a black gown that had a V-shape that extended down to her waist, showing a good amount of her cleavage. Black ruffles adorned the collar, complete with long sleeves, giving her the impression of a sorceress.

What was more, she was carrying a staff that had a crystal ball on top of it which fitted nicely. The colour of the crystal ball reminded him of his Leader's eyes. Beside her was her signature Pokémon, Umbreon. The book was titled, "The Dark Sorceress with a Heart of Gold: Pakura Goldstein." and it was written by an author named Janis Delacroix in 1322, which was a few years after Pakura Goldstein died.

Ash opened the book, and started reading about the first female ruler, whom everyone said was one of the best they ever had in history. As he read on, Pakura Goldstein's past became clear. Born in New York City to a family and two siblings, one older and one younger, and was neglected in favour of the other two, who happened to be guys, and apparently in their family, they favoured boys more than girls. The siblings were proud of it and flaunted it in her face.

The parents never noticed that she was the most brilliant student in school, getting many awards for various competitions, and getting top marks in the entire cohort in exams, and when the teachers came to talk about it, the parents assumed they had mixed her up with the other two siblings, and the two siblings would jump in to claim credit. According to the biography, even as a child, Pakura Goldstein didn't care then, since she didn't really like the limelight.

She started to rebel when her parents apparently arranged for her to marry Melvin, who expressed an interest in her at a party last year. However, Pakura Goldstein slapped his advances away during the said party, which made the parents apologize when the twenty-five year old man mentioned it, and made up for it by arranging for her to marry him once she graduated from high school, much to her distaste.

One thing she liked very much was playing tennis, which was how she met Natsuhi Davenport, who she became fast friends with. The picture of the boy was also included. Natsuhi was depicted to have smooth brown hair that was combed down and emerald green eyes. Both of them became Doubles Partners and won various tennis competitions together, and even went to New Day Academy together. However, during her Final Year in New Day Academy, Natsuhi collapsed after winning the National Finals Doubles 1 Match and was rushed off to the hospital, but succumbed to the illness, and subsequently died.

This shocked Pakura Goldstein enough to stop playing tennis, and she started keeping to herself, and muttering things under her breath, and was shut up in her room most of the time. No one really paid any mind to it, as they assumed she was preparing for her Finals, until after Graduation Day, she promptly disappeared, presumably to home, until her parents called and claimed she never returned home for her wedding ceremony. No one ever saw her in New York again, as she had already moved to the PAL Region from there.

'How did she even find out about the region when the region was recently founded?' Ash thought, looking at the part where she moved to the PAL Region right after graduating and getting her certificate. 'No, I shouldn't be surprised. Princess Pakura is very clever after all, she would have her own methods.'

When he read one about First Princess Pakura becoming a Hunter within two weeks, and rose to the Head of Poacher Department after a mere three months, and a Zodiac member within six months when even the Chairman of the Hunter's Association caught wind of her various success in her missions and her leadership skills. It was at this point that she developed her aura abilities, which apparently take on magical properties like a witch.

First Princess Pakura also had psychic powers, and one mentioned her power to make use of a water mirror to reveal what happened. Not only that, the vision also reveal what the victim saw, but it also shows what they felt, heard, smelled, and tasted at the time moments before their death. To activate the divination ability, she does a soulful and alluring dance around the water mirror, believing the dance would help her increase the accuracy of what she sees with her ability.

'The ability to look into what the victim saw and felt before their death. That's extremely useful.' Ash frowned as he read on about Pakura Goldstein's Divination Séance. The Princess herself would then interpret the vision herself.

As he read on, he felt respect towards her rise, as she had acknowledged that even her psychic powers can be wrong, and welcomed her opponents to refute what she saw in the mirror to save their clients and where she went wrong in her interpretation, for it is the truth that counts.

Apparently, she took on a second job as a Prosecutor, to help uphold the justice and peace in the region, and her talent in prosecuting was so great that the other countries actually paid her to prosecute their cases, labelling her as an International Prosecutor, and her perfect win record allowed her to become a Chief Prosecutor by the time she reached her twenties.

'Well, Arceus definitely went overboard with the talent department when it comes to Pakura Goldstein.' Ash thought. 'No one except her can become the Chief Prosecutor at that age…usually, they have to be over thirty, and even so, those people usually cannot match her calibre.'

However, that also alerted her family, who tried to take her back to New York and marry the man who they claimed had been waiting for her to return to him.

The Goldstein child tried to talk them out of it for the sake of peace, but when they started getting aggressive, Pakura Goldstein revealed her new-found authority, and it was reported her eyes turned red. Using her new found power, she made her family leave, and she later killed them herself or arranged for their deaths.

At that point, she had already gained the power of Scarlet Anger, which amplifies the magical abilities she had and her psychic powers. By the timeline, Ash was sure her family coming after her was what trigged the Scarlet Anger in the first place. However, it did not come without a price, as First Princess Pakura found her health deteriorating the more she used it.

When asked to the secret of being able to cope for so long, the First Princess replied that she doesn't let the power take over her, for she deeply cares about the region and does not wish the citizens to rule under a corrupted power, which would damage it further, and ruin what Prince Pierce had set out to create.

She believed that as long as the user has something worth fighting for, then they can prolong their lifespan enough for them to figure out to completely beat that power. Knowing that the power would corrupt the people of the future, she decided to print out what she knew about her unknown power, believing herself to be one of the first to wield it. The notebook was believed to be lost after her death.

'That notebook…' Ash thought, putting the book down. 'I doubt her things were disposed with, since PAL Region is not that wasteful. I know Paku keeps some of her psychology and law books around, and even her old outfits. I wonder if she has the notebook. I guess I'll check with her.'

Just then, his CommuniDex rang, and when he saw who was contacting him, he thought, 'Speak of the devil.'

"What is it, Paku?" Ash asked.

"Ash, come quick! It's Rosaline, she's been attacked. We're in the hospital now." Pakura said.

Ash cursed, as though he didn't care about her much, she was still one of them. He put back the autobiography, and rushed for the hospital.

* * *

When Rosaline finally woke up, she's warm and patched up in a bed at the hospital. The others (except Pakura) were sitting in chairs, talking in hushed voices, but when Jude noticed she was awake, he signalled for the others to stop talking. She still felt the sedative drug in her bloodstream, probably to numb the pain from her injuries.

"I'm alive." Rosaline muttered rustily.

"No kidding, you dunderhead." Pakura walked over, and plunked down at the edge of the bed, causing Rosaline to wince as spikes of pain shot across her entire body.

"Can you remember what happened, Rosaline?" Jude asked. Rosaline tried to remember, but the last thing she remembered was planning to go to Painted Dreams to stock up on her art supplies and perhaps buy a treat for her Pokémon, and told them that. Phillip nodded for Ash to try using his psychic powers to see if he could get more detail. Ash scanned her mind, and came out blank, indicating she wasn't lying, and that was the last thing she could remember.

"What did the doctor say?" Rosaline asked.

"Broken ribs. Several of them. The bullet also ruptured your spleen, and they couldn't repair it." Phillip answered. "You got a broken arm as well."

"How long would I be in the hospital?" Rosaline groaned.

"Honestly? I think you have to be out by tomorrow for your matches." Ash answered. "Even if you have not fully recovered."

"Otherwise, they would consider you as forfeit, and you'll be out of the tournament. Wouldn't do much good, would it, considering your reputation is already plunging downwards." Pakura shrugged.

"Pakura!" Jude gave her a look, but she simply replied, "It's true. She can choose between her own health and her reputation. If she chooses the former, it's clear she only thinks of herself, and she only came for the Elite position because it's the only way to prove she is the best. However, if she risks her health to prove to everyone she is worthy, they'll acknowledge the sacrifice."

"Harsh, but Paku has a point there." Ash nodded.

"So, do you feel safe now?" Phillip sounded quite amused.

"Definitely not." Rosaline replied, before pausing. "I guess I was an ignorant child after all. To think that I could really fit in. Now I don't even know what happened to me, and I feel…hopeless."

Jude gave her a look of pity, while the other three seemed impassive, but Pakura looked thoughtful. At the point, Siebold appeared in the doorway, and Pakura finally said, "We'll leave you two alone." She scooted off her bed, and the others stood up, and followed suit.

Rosaline suddenly remembered something. "Wait, where's my Espeon?" She called out.

The three boys looked at each other warily, but Pakura answered nonchalantly, "She's in the Emergency Ward." With that, they walked past Siebold, nodding to him, as he entered the hospital room.

When Rosaline heard the words, "Emergency Ward", she seemed to withdraw, and imagined her Espeon, bleeding and battered and bruised, with no one but the Nurse to oversee her. The thought of it made tears appear in her eyes, and she screamed in anguish. A hand took hers, but she was only vaguely aware of it, as she started sobbing.

Unknown to the others, Pakura smirked. 'I never had so much fun.' She thought.

* * *

"Rosaline most likely had her memories modified. There's no other explanation." Ash said to Pakura. They were at the drinks machine, where Pakura was buying a can of Milo for herself and a can of Pepsi for Ash. Phillip and Jude decided to go to the Bakery via the bus to get something for themselves and buy something for Rosaline to cheer her up. Phillip also had to pick up some spare parts so he could make a new CommuniDex for her.

"But whoever did it has an awfully good control of their psychic powers." Pakura replied, as she inserted a note inside the machine, before pressing the appropriate buttons.

"And who else would be capable of doing it? The Dragon Duo." Ash said, as he nodded his thanks for the Pepsi. He opened the can, and gulped the fizzy drink down. "The Dragon Princess did it. I am almost sure of it."

"Why not the Dragon Prince?" Pakura asked.

"From my dreams, the attacker was a female, never a male. Unless you are suggesting the Dragon Prince is a transgender person, and often refers himself as female." Ash answered with a hint of sarcasm.

"So what do you think happened to the Dragon Prince?" Pakura asked, as she opened her can of Milo, sat down next to Ash, and took a sip.

"I don't know yet, since I have yet to uncover his identity. With a bit of research, I might find out what happened if I have his identity." Ash nodded. "Speaking of which, I want to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Pakura turned to Ash.

"Do you happen to own Pakura Goldstein's notebooks? I read that she had a notebook where she written down how she was able to control the Scarlet Anger and prolong her life." Ash said.

"Didn't do her much good, since she still committed suicide in the end." Pakura shook her head.

"That's true, but what if she was taking the first steps into dissipating the Scarlet Anger herself?" Ash wondered. Perhaps the latest victim of Scarlet Anger was the Dragon Princess, since by his dreams, the person was female. The one who killed the Blackthorn Dragon Clan was female too. Coincidence? He thinks not.

"I guess when I have time, I'll let you look through her stuff that I own." Pakura nodded. "Which is almost all of them."

"How about tonight?" Ash asked.

"As much as I love to, I can't." Pakura shook her head. "I got a dance party to go tonight for the Pokémon Performers, since the Showcase starts the day the Top 32 begins, which is like in two days, so they are arriving tonight. It's like a Coordinator Meet and Greet, but since Pokémon Performers are all females, they want us to have a partner for the dance party, and our Pokémon must have a partner too. I have to get ready in an hour's time."

"Have you decided who you want to go with?" Ash enquired.

"Oh, I already decided to ask Steven Stone." Pakura smirked.

"What if he says no?" Ash questioned.

"He can't say no, he owes me." Pakura waved him off, as she took another gulp of her Milo.

"Right, who would want to turn you down?" Ash muttered. The truth was, he was somewhat disappointed she didn't ask him. Then again, it was probably because she knew he was in love with Cynthia and wouldn't want to ruin his chances with her by asking him to go with her. Still, he'd have loved it if she asked him to go, since both of them have a close relationship, and he would have accepted anyway.

"She'll be relieved anyway." Pakura commented, polishing off the remains of her drink.

"Relieved about what?" Ash was puzzled.

"That a catch like you is still available." Pakura answered. "Besides, she wouldn't be happy if she learnt that you went to the party with a hideous being such as me. I'll advise you to avert your gaze, while you still can."

Ash rolled his eyes, because Pakura is so very far from hideous, as everyone knows so well. How else was she able to get first place in the various Intercity Beauty Contests, and become the regional's Beauty Queen? Nobody, not even the regional guests, can take their eyes off her. He nodded numbly as Pakura excused herself to make a call at the public phone.

But how could she ask Steven Stone? Sure, he's handsome and is the son to the President of Devon Corporation, the biggest company in Hoenn region and a regional Champion, but still, she just met him. What is she thinking? Ash couldn't believe it. He just can't.

Still. Why Steven? Why did she have to ask him to go with her? He was so caught up in his thoughts he did not notice Pakura hanging up the public phone installed in the hospital nearby, and said to Ash, "Steven said yes. Now I don't have to worry about a date."

'Date?' Ash echoed the word in his head in horror. He found himself praying Pakura doesn't let guys kiss her on the first date. Wait, why does it bother him so much? Pakura can handle herself, he knows this fact. But why does it have to be Steven, who is practically a stranger to her, since as far as he knew, they never really met before prior to the tournament.

Oh Arceus. There he goes again. What is wrong with him? He's chasing after Cynthia, so why can't he stop thinking about the fact that Pakura didn't ask him to go with her, and opted to ask someone else whom she only met like FOUR DAYS AGO.

It looks like Ash is going to do a different type of investigation tonight.

* * *

"Hey, Ash, how's the investigation going?" Phillip enquired, when Ash returned to the Tower. Phillip was munching on a bar of chocolate with honey in it as the filling, which he probably got from the Chocolate Factory in Cacao City, which is an hour's ride by bus.

"Not going to delve further for tonight." Ash muttered.

"Why not?" Phillip was puzzled, taking another bite out of the chocolate.

"I'm going to do something else tonight." Ash replied. "That is why I'm looking for you."

"What are you going to do?" Phillip asked nervously, not liking the look in Ash's eyes.

"I want you to disable the cameras at the Luonto City Ballroom. I'm going to knock one of the Performer's dates out and disguise as him." Ash replied.

"Why would you…." Phillip trailed off when he realized that was where the Performer Dance Party would be held. "Wait a minute, you're trying to spy on Pakura! How are you going to spy on her without being detected? You know she can sense the presence and the position of people hidden who conceal their aura."

"I learnt her range, so I will stay out of range, and make use of my Enhanced Eyesight and Hearing. If she were to be out of range from those, that's where your devices come in. Lend me your Grandiculars." The Grandiculars was an invention Phillip had made, which was a binoculars who can reply action, slow everything down, and flash up a play-by-play breakdown if needed, and has an X-ray function to see through smoke and explosions. In fact, the device can also read lips for eavesdropping purposes and translate it to subtitles in the device.

Ash knew there is a high chance he would get caught by Pakura even if he did careful planning (call it a woman's intuition), but it's not as if he cared about that. All he wanted for now is to gain access to the party itself for some weird reason.

"Is there a reason why you're spying on her?" Phillip frowned, as he finished his bar, and started on a Large Ice Cream Jelly Smoothie, bought from a smoothie store. Ash wondered how he could take in all that sugar content without going into Sugar Rush.

"Obviously." Ash glared at him. "Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"May I know the reason?" Phillip raised a brow.

"It's none of your business." Ash muttered, his face slightly red.

"Right, so it has nothing to do with the fact that she and Steven were at Aquamarine's Style right now." Phillip nodded in understanding.

"Wait, what did you say?" Ash said in a dangerously calm voice.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Phillip looked genuinely surprised. "We saw them when Jude and I were on the way back from the Bakery buying some Chunky Chocolate Scone for Rosaline. Steven was doing most of the talking, though. Pakura stayed silent as usual. Are you sure that's not-"

"Would you help me out?" Ash cut Phillip off.

"Ok, I will, chill." Phillip replied, trying to pacify Ash. Deep down, he was thinking, 'I knew it! Ash does love Pakura, just that he doesn't know it yet.'

Phillip exchanged knowing looks with Pachirisu, and Ash's Pikachu and Lucario. Now, if only Ash would choose her over Cynthia. Phillip always thought those two would make the most badass yet the cutest couple the region would ever see.

'Ash would just have to figure it out for himself.' Phillip thought. 'That's one thing we can't exactly help him with, since we're not Cupid.'

* * *

"Really, Ash? Did you have to sacrifice the chocolate bar I bought for this scheme?" Phillip grumbled, as he threw the unconscious boy over his shoulder and stripped him of his clothes, replacing them with new ones so Ash could wear the clothes his date was wearing.

"I'm not going to knock him out, I may leave marks." Ash replied, and proceeded to read into the boy's memory so that he knew how to act, and erase his memories so that he did not remember that he was on the way to the Performer's Dace Party with one of the Performers.

"You better make up for that." Phillip warned him, as Ash started changing using the bush as his cover. "Or I might expose your plan in front of the entire people attending the party."

"You wouldn't." Ash looked at him, as he took out a box, and Phillip opened it. It turned out to be one of the regional's most popular candy from their very own candy factories. It was called Cloud Heaven, and it was similar to marshmallows and cotton candy, but has a milky flavor and its texture was as soft as a cloud. There was something about it that made the consumers extremely happy when eating it. Due to its popularity, it was rather expensive. When Phillip examined the box carefully, he saw Ash had thrown in a Mallowicious Chocolate Bar, which was milk chocolate filled with strawberry marshmallow, with a layer of praline.

"Ooh…thanks." Phillip grinned down at the box of Cloud Heavens and the mouth-watering Mallowicious Chocolate Bar waiting to be eaten. "Well, then, I'll leave the boy somewhere in the forest." With that, he sauntered off with the boy over his shoulder, and took Ash's clothes with him, so no one would find the evidence that the boy was a disguised Ash.

Ash shook his head, as he closed his eyes and changed himself to the boy lookalike and even changed his voice to mimic his. He then proceeded to make his way to the party to meet the girl who was supposed to be his date.

His 'date' turned out to be a girl who was a few years younger than him. She was small and thin girl with tanned skin. She has long brown hair which she keeps in bunches and dark green eyes. Her outfit consisted of a cerise pink t-shirt decorated by three large black bows and a pair of denim shorts, and on her wrist she has a matching dark pink wristband and a black frilly bobble. She was carrying a white bag with a matching design on her shirt (pink hood and a large black bow), and she wore dark pink ballet type shoes with small heels.

"Hey, Trevor!" The girl greeted. Ash knew from the boy's memories, her name was Shauna.

"Hey, Shauna!" Ash greeted back, hating being enthusiastic. "Ready for the party?"

"Of course!" Shauna smiled. "So, Trevor, taken any interesting pictures lately?"

"Earlier, I saw this beautiful Sylveon. I was about to take a picture of it drinking water at the stream with its ribbons, but it sensed me and got away." Ash mock-sighed.

Shauna gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's ok. Maybe you can find that Sylveon again. Although, I didn't know Sylveon appears in the wild in this region."

"In this region, they say there are various Eeveelutions due to the weather conditions, and the many stones lie waiting to be found, and an Eevee may accidentally touch them, causing them to evolve. Shall we go?" Ash replied, offering his arm. Shauna nodded, and clung to him, much to his chagrin.

"Yeah, I heard they allow you to borrow costumes for the party. That's why I told you to wear your own clothes. At least you listened." Shauna nodded, as they made their way to the location of the party.

Meanwhile, Pakura was prepped and dressed in a full-length off-the-shoulder silver gown, which had silver lace held up by matching sparkling sashes, which made it look like a layered gown at the bottom. She had a tiara fixed on her hair which was done in a bun-like style with layers of hair falling from it, and was placed in matching high heels. She adorned a pearl necklace, and a diamond bracelet on her left wrist.

Just then, the door opened, and Aria came in with the same Jaunted Jewels Gown Elesa wore in Jude's fashion show, and even the same necklace, bracelet, and high heels. Her hair was put up with a tiara in her hair.

"How do I look?" Aria asked, twirling her outfit.

Pakura spared her a look, before saying, "Not bad."

"So, who's your date tonight?" Aria took a chair, and sat down next to her.

"Champion Steven." Pakura replied. "You?"

Aria looked sheepish. "Well, I couldn't find one until the last minute, where Champion Steven was nice enough to ask some guy called Alain to be my date, and he agreed. I doubt the Alain guy was happy about it, though."

Pakura nodded absent-mindedly, and examined her manicure. "Remind me again why you're here?"

"I was hoping to have a chat with you. We're friends, right?" Aria replied, smiling.

Pakura gave her a long look. Truthfully, she did not know what Aria was to her. Sure, they had met each other to have tea together and went out together a few times, but the main conversation topic was mostly their progress in the Showcase world…or rather, Aria doing most of the talking, and she did the listening, occasionally offering some advice to her, and vice-versa. It seldom touched on their personal lives.

Due to her Scarlet Anger, she could not tell which memories were real, and what was made-up. Was her memories actually real, or were they made up by her delirious state of mind that she had friends?

"Actually, I'm not sure." Pakura said truthfully. "I mean, I've always been alone since the beginning, and learnt how to rely on myself."

"It's always better to have a friend." Aria gave her winning smile, before it vanished. "But what do you mean you're alone? Don't you have your family?"

Pakura shook her head, and Aria gasped. "You're an orphan?" Aria asked.

"Something like that." Pakura replied in a tone that told Aria not to ask any more questions. At that point, however, the door opened, and their two dates entered.

"There's our cue." Aria said, standing, and walking over to Alain.

"Shall we?" Steven asked, holding out a hand to her, which she accepted, and they exited towards the backstage for their appearance.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Jude announced, holding Elesa's hand. Beside them, was their Pokémon, a Purrloin and Flaaffy respectively. "Thank you for coming to the dance party. I'm Jude Harrison, and I shall be your host for tonight. Let me introduce today's special guests, Kalos Queen Aria."

Here, Aria and Alain appeared, to people's cheers and comments on how cute and elegant Aria looked tonight. Next to them were their Pokémon, a Delphox and a Charizard, who were holding hands.

"And the PAL Duchess Pakura." Jude gestured. At this point, Pakura and Steven appeared as well, and many guys wondering why she didn't choose them as her date. For them, it was a Sylveon and an Armaldo pair.

"Hello, everyone." Aria greeted, as Pakura curtseyed a silent greeting, causing the girls to swoon in admiration. Pakura caught Aria giving Serena a smile, and she herself gave a small nod out of the corner of her eye, which Serena caught, if her smile widening was any indication.

"Just you wait." A certain Fleurrh City Performer muttered. "I shall take both your titles away from you."

The three pairs on the stage (six if you count the Pokémon) slowly ascended the stairs to the ballroom floor, and started the dance when the slow music started. Slow dancing was rather strange, as it was more like standing there with arms around the other person, moving from one foot to another, and everyone was watching them in silence, as the spotlights followed the six pairs as they moved around.

"They have some moves." Shauna commented, pointing to Pakura and Steven, who were twirling gracefully to the music. She was now wearing a frilly pink gown, which had red ribbons all over the gown, which Ash thought it made Shauna look like some overgrown little girl in her first formal dress.

Ash narrowed his eyes, before nodding in agreement. "She's your goal, right?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure. If I win, I can choose to challenge either one of them, right?" Shauna said, and Ash nodded again, before turning back to Pakura. He wondered why she would deign to dance with someone she doesn't know, and was it just him, or was Steven's hand a little too low?

Finally, the pairs twirled, and did a pose, and everyone clapped, and the all bowed in thanks.

"Now, it's time for the long-awaited free time." Jude announced. "Please have a wonderful time."

"Come on, Trevor!" Shauna grabbed Ash's hand, and started to dance to the music. As Shauna wasn't very good at dancing, Ash decided to lead her, as he had lessons with Jude and Pakura, and helped her keep her balance, dancing to the music. Shauna seemed to be enjoying herself, as she was smiling and laughing the whole way. Ash gave a small smile when he saw that his Pikachu (thanks goodness he did the research on Trevor's Pokémon team) was also enjoying himself.

Meanwhile, Steven and Pakura looked like they are having the time of their lives dancing away. Ash watched as Pakura said something to Steven, and Steven nodding as they headed to the food table, and decided to somehow dance his way there to hear what they are talking about.

As he inched closer, he saw Steven taking some cheese and crackers from a plate and munching on it. Pakura on the other hand was drinking some bone soup, where they boil leftover bones belonging to an animal into a delicious soup.

"You're a pretty good dancer." Pakura muttered, sipping at her soup.

"Thank you. I had lessons when I was young. Surprising, I know, but I'm the son of the president of the Devon Corporation, so…." Steven trailed off.

"So you're the heir to the company?" Pakura raised a brow.

"Yeah." Steven answered. "How about you? What kind of family were you born in?"

Ash expected Pakura to snap, but instead she said calmly, "I worked my way up the social ladder. No family to help me, or at least support me, whatsoever." She didn't sound proud though. Quite the contrary, she sounded rather bitter.

"Oh…I'm sorry." Steven apologized.

"Don't be." Pakura waved him off, sipping a glass of pink lemonade mixed with Sprite. "I learnt a lot in my Pokémon journey. Rosaline was fortunate enough to have a normal childhood, and yet she doesn't appreciate it, and only wanted to get the spot to prove to her bullies she is better than them. Broke a hundred regional rules into pieces along the way, thinking herself above them."

"Oh yeah, that." Steven nodded. "What's the relationship with her and the others?"

"The others don't hate her, but they find her irritating, with her trying to cheer us up with her positivity." Pakura answered. "I personally hold contempt against her for that."

'Paku hates Rosaline?' Ash thought, as he continued dancing with Shauna. 'But why would she let her in, then?'

Steven nodded, as he understood where Pakura was getting.

"I won't say I'm at the top yet, since I'm still not on par with this one." She took out a photograph, and when Ash craned his neck, he realized it was a picture of the First Princess, Pakura Goldstein.

"Wow….she's beautiful." Steven admired. "Who is that?"

"Pakura Goldstein, the First Princess of our region. I think she was the one who came up with a select group ruling the region so that it'd be less stressful for the rulers, and it evolved into us having the Elite Four." Pakura explained. "She's a prodigy, you know, became a Prosecutor at the young age of fifteen…"

"Fi-Fi-Fifteen!? She became a prosecutor at the age of FIFTEEN?" Steven was surprised.

"Yeah, our region is extremely progressive, so it isn't unusual to see people starting their dream careers at that age." Pakura replied. "The Dragon Duo became the rulers of our region at their early teens."

Steven gulped down his fruit punch to help calm himself, as Pakura went on, "She was so talented she became an International Prosecutor within a few months. By age eighteen, she was already Chief Prosecutor of our region. The way she handles herself in court and her opponent's arguments is just amazing. She never lost a case up until her death."

"Is she your idol?" Steven asked.

Pakura nodded. "I'm still a long way to go before I can be as good as she was."

"Come on, you're pretty great yourself. No one can brag that they are the Princess of a whole region." Steven offered.

Pakura shook her head, and muttered bitterly, "I was supposed to lose that position because I got beaten by our League Champion. It was only because he allowed me to keep my Princess title that I am still the Princess. Speaking of which, are you expected to marry some girl of equal social status when you grow up?"

Steven nodded, as he started to fill his plate. "At first, yeah. But when I became Champion, I sort of took advantage of this and told my dad I'd marry for love, and he agreed. But, with the fans I have, it's hard to know who likes me for me, and who is just after the prestige of dating a League Champion and the heir to the biggest company in Hoenn."

"I share your pain." Pakura agreed. "The only ones who would see you for who you are would be someone who has their own fame. That way they won't want to bask in your spotlight, since they have their own."

"Wow, Trevor! Where did you learn your dancing skills from?" Shauna asked, and Ash forced himself to focus on his date for the night.

"It's a secret." Ash grinned. "What say we take a break? I'll get you a drink." Shauna nodded, and Ash went to get some sparkling water like he said he would. He headed to the drinks section, where he saw Aria and Alain heading towards Steven and Pakura.

"Pretty great party, don't you think?" Aria asked the couple.

"Yeah." Steven nodded. "So, how was Alain?"

"Bit clumsy, and nervous, but otherwise he's fine." Aria smiled, and Alain looked to the side, blushing.

"Who knew you had it in you, Alain?" Steven grinned, and Alain muttered, "Shut up."

Pakura, however, was not paying attention to the conversation, and was staring at Ash. She knew that the person Shauna came with was not Trevor the moment he started dancing with her, as teenage boys like Trevor generally do not have any dancing skills whatsoever. Only one person she knows would have graceful ballroom dancing skills like she and Jude had. And that is….

She had to applaud his skills to be able to avoid detection from her, but he gave himself away in the end. But one question bugged her: What is Ash doing here?

Just then, Jude announced there would be a rotation dance, and everyone gathered in a circle, Pokémon included. The moment the music started, everyone including Pakura started moving to dance with the next boy, who stuttered and blushed when he realized he was going to dance with her. She glared at him to scare him into silence, and reluctantly started dancing with him. She stole a glance, and saw that Ash was five people away from her, dancing with another girl, and Jude was dancing with Aria. Her Sylveon was currently dancing with a Pansage.

Hopefully, the music ends before she could get her dance with Ash, because she doesn't feel like dealing with him right now.

* * *

Phillip didn't know whether to frown or to smile as he saw the reception of the game "Heartsong Symphony", which was the Pokémon Game based on their region, as he sat in Jude's café, eating the Custard Parfait he had bought from there.

According to the people in Los Angeles, they loved the game, but it was very difficult, despite the fact that they had put a PC and a Healing Machine in all their rooms to switch their Pokémon and heal up before facing the next Elite member, since the teams are all different whenever they come to face them (thanks to the Randomizer that had installed in the program), along with different moves too.

Moreover, the few that somehow managed to defeat him and reach Pakura always failed there because her Pokémon always attacks first due to the high speed and not-so-effective moves of hers would also almost guarantee a One-Hit Knock Out, due to the sheer power of her Pokémon (it was apparent they are trying to make their game selves as close to their real counterparts, but maybe the gamemakers went a little overboard). However, Phillip was sure that Pakura was beatable with the right strategy, as he had beaten the game before he approved of it.

Luckily for them, they had not placed the League Champion Ash, as the game was in production a year before Ash had joined up with them, and it was too late to give them the new information anyway.

Most of the players had described him as an adorkable person, and he laughed, because obviously they never knew of the hidden aggressive side in combat. Not even the locals would suspect that he is probably more vicious than Jude and Rosaline when it comes to fighting. He took another bite of his parfait, marvelling at the sweet taste, and continued reading on the reception of the characters in the game.

Some players wondered if they had enhanced Pakura's appearance, as her beauty was almost supernatural, and wanted to meet her in person as proof, while others were requesting an anime series based on the game to be produced.

'Well, I'm not an animator, but I'll hear what they have to say.' Phillip thought, looking at the Ace Attorney games that they have based Phoenix Wright's cases on. Apparently, he was a legend over there, despite being a Defense Attorney for only a few years. He was well-known for his ability to pull off impossible comebacks in court, and even beat that Manfred Von Karma, who had a perfect win record for forty years.

'Hmm…Chief Prosecutor Pakura Goldstein never lost for forty-one years either.' Phillip thought. 'I bet if the Dark Princess ever met that Phoenix guy in court, she'd be handed her first defeat. Or maybe Phoenix would be so enamoured with her beauty, he'd forget everything. After all, Pakura Goldstein is prettier than that Diantha.' Phillip laughed at the thought. 'Too bad she doesn't exist in his era. I wonder if we should hire him to defend Ash for his upcoming trial. We'll almost be guaranteed of his acquittal.'

With that thought, he finished his parfait, and walked out, passing Diantha on the way. Diantha was somewhat startled, but Phillip did not seem to notice her, and Diantha swore she could hear him humming some tune and having a small smile, which looked rather nice on him. She saw he was carrying some file and boxes of what looked like games to her.

'Looks like Phillip is hard at work on something. He sure is dedicated, even with the tournament and all.' Diantha had heard from the briefing that he was a well-known game tester and critique, and was often reviewing and playing various games, and giving advice on how the games can be improved, even helping them in the making of the games if needed.

'Now I think of it, the Dragon Princess used to be a Defense Attorney.' Phillip thought. 'I remember her standing in a courtroom before. She was a real popular Defense Attorney even without her Dragon Princess status, since she never lost once up until she left the law firm. I wonder what happened.' Phillip was upset since the Dragon Duo were the ones that took him in and saw potential in him instead of some guy who doesn't like to socialize.

Phillip was sure Jude felt the same way as well (not Rosaline though since she never met the Dragon Duo as they had disappeared before she joined up), and was even more determined to find out what happened to them, and resolved to help Ash out in working on his case of the missing Dragon Duo.

But first, he should tell Jude on what Ash asked of him. He'd probably find it hilarious.

* * *

Jude received a message in his CommuniDex, much to his irritation, as he was in the middle of dancing with Elesa. He paused the dance for a second to read the message, before snickering.

"What's so funny?" Elesa asked, when Jude resumed dancing with her.

"You know about Champion Red, right?" Jude replied with a question, and Elesa nodded. Who wouldn't, seeing he was the regional Prince and the PAL League Champion?

"Well, he's in love with Champion Cynthia…" Jude started, but he was cut off by Elesa saying, "He is?" in shock. She knew that Jude disliked Champion Cynthia from a conversation earlier in the day.

"Unfortunately." Jude replied, disgust in his expression for a moment, before schooling his features into a charming smile. "However, Phillip just told me that when our Champion found out our dear Elite Leader Pakura just asked Steven Stone to attend the dance with her, he knocked out one of the Performer's dates and disguised himself as the boy so he could attend the dance too."

"Why would he do that?" Elesa was puzzled, but amused at Ash's actions.

"Why do you think?" Jude grinned.

"Wait, he couldn't be jealous, could he?" Realization dawned on Elesa.

"Unless he is some hidden jerk that wants girls to fight over him, I guess you could say that." Jude answered, 'Really, you have to pity him in a sense. It's obvious he is feeling very sad, because of Cynthia betraying him like that all those years ago, and his mother being killed. Then I expect he's feeling confused because he loved Cynthia and now he also loves Pakura, and he can't work out who he loves more. But if you ask me, he should keep himself open to other girls and not put all his eggs on one basket.'

"It's be interesting to see who he chooses in the end." Elesa commented.

'Why do I have the feeling I might not like the end results?' Jude thought, but he said, "Yeah, definitely. Hopefully, he doesn't make the wrong choice like I did."

"You won't let him, would you?" Elesa smiled, as Jude twirled her around.

"Of course not. I'll do whatever it takes to stop him if necessary. Hopefully he listens, though." Jude sighed. He was not one to compare (leave that to Pakura), but he was sure that the big part of why Cynthia liked Ash so much was because she wanted to have access to Mega Evolution and be even more popular in the PAL Region, and she thought hanging out with Ash could help get what she wanted.

Why else would Cynthia, the all-around Ice Queen, suddenly have an interest with Ash, whom she technically never met before (at least, not as Champion Red)?

Cynthia sort of reminded him of his late ex. Only liking people because of what they can get out of them, not because of who they were. It looked like both of them also like to hide their true selves. Jude wondered if her public image was all just a façade, or if it's real, only she had two sides to her.

'Don't tell me Cynthia wanted to be a Prince's Consort too.' Jude thought, knowing the benefits of becoming the Prince's/Princess' Consort. 'Well, sucks to be Ash and Pakura.'

"What are you thinking about?" Elesa asked, noting Jude's silence.

"Nothing much." Jude answered. "Just wondering how Champion Red would be a lot better off if he'd just wake up and find that what he's looking for has been next to him the whole time." He looked over to Pakura, who was dancing with some random boy.

The said boy was very taken with her beauty and charm. In fact, he was so mesmerized that he was looking at her the whole time and did not notice his steps, which caused him to lose his balance every now and then, which would definitely irritate Pakura. Jude wondered which boy was the disguised Ash, as he was unable to detect him.

* * *

Much to Pakura's annoyance, the song did not end before she had her dance with Ash, and she reluctantly took his hand and started the dance with him.

"Well, don't you look great? Aquamarine did a good job." Ash smirked. Pakura stared dagger at him, as the Champion started taking the lead for the dance. She took this chance to pull him closer and hiss, "What are you doing here?"

"Well." Ash replied, as he moved her in tune of Meloetta's song. "I thought I needed a break from all my duties once in a while. I heard that you are going to have a chance to let your hair down. Then I thought….why should you be the only one to have fun?"

"You could just ask any girl in your real appearance. They'd kill to have you as a date." Pakura shot him a look that indicated she was not buying his story.

"You see, I'd like a night where no girls would be drooling over me. And you are the only one who wouldn't do that, but you already got yourself a date, so…" Ash trailed off as he twirled her around.

"Why would you care who I took with me to the dance?" Pakura shook her head. "Aren't you in love with that Champion Cynthia?"

Ash hummed, as he said, "That's true. I was just curious as to why you would choose Steven of all people."

"Champion Steven is someone with breeding and his own fortune. Besides, you have to admit he's not bad looking and what is more, he is rather sophisticated and easy to hold a conversation with. So I figured we should attend this party together." Pakura answered. "I would never go for anyone less."

"And I'm not any of those?" Ash frowned at her.

"Believe me, you are. However, you have your eyes on someone else, and vice versa. She'd freak if she found out I took you to the party. Besides, you're never interested in parties like this." Pakura shrugged. "Which doesn't explain why you're here, at the risk of your future girlfriend's jealousy." She said the last sentence with sarcasm.

"It's a secret." Ash grinned, though he also wondered why he had this impulse of spying on her when he found out she was going with Steven Stone and not him. The said guy was currently having a dance with Kalos Queen Aria and seemed to be enjoying himself. He also saw Alain dancing with Elesa, and Jude was dancing with Shauna.

"So, tell me, why have you not asked that beautiful Sinnoh Champion out yet?" Pakura asked. "I am sure you'd ask her out the first chance you got since you two are now…reunited."

"The thing is, I'm not sure why too." Ash admitted. "But you guys would be displeased, since you all seem to hate her."

"I won't assure you by telling you that that is not the case, since it's true." Pakura agreed. "But since when do you care what we think? Just follow your heart, I say. We can't do much either, since you are the one with the highest authority."

Ash nodded, as he knew Pakura was right.

"Anyway, just remember. I know a woman's charm would usually catch men off guard, and I have to admit, Cynthia is a knockout with her beauty and her figure, especially with that impressive set of knockers, but her appearance may be a mask to hide her true self. Just make sure you find out whether she's ugly or not underneath that mask." Pakura went on.

"Are you suggesting…" Ash started, but Pakura cut him off by saying, "It's just a warning. Perhaps she is not wearing one at all, but I want you to keep your guard up if in the event she is wearing one. You should know by now that the world is filled with nasty people." She did not mention that she thought that something would go wrong for him if he got together with Cynthia, since she felt Ash needed to learn it the hard way.

Just then, the music ended and they bowed to each other to thank the other for the dance. Pakura promptly let go of Ash's hand and went back to her date for the evening.

"Hey, Trevor. What are you looking at?" Ash started, and saw that Shauna was fanning herself with her hand, thankful that the rotation dance ended, since she was rather tired. She followed Ash's line of sight, and giggled when she saw Pakura who was listening to Aria, Steven and Alain chat animatedly, and was joined shortly by Jude and Elesa.

"Nothing." Ash replied, smiling. "I was just thinking how nice you looked tonight."

"You flatterer." Shauna laughed. "So, did you enjoy your dance with Princess Pakura? I saw you dancing with her just now."

"Yes." Ash answered honestly.

"So, what were you two talking about?" Shauna asked eagerly. "You two were chatting like a pair of old friends!"

"Nothing much. It was just about the party, the music and the food." Ash replied. However, he was thinking about Pakura's words. He knew Pakura was the wisest among them, and she was most likely right about Cynthia wearing a mask. However, even people with troubled pasts (like him) wear masks so that no one would be able to find out and bring up the painful memories. What if Cynthia fell in that category? That would mean he would have to help her as soon as possible.

Ash watched as Pakura took out her CommuniDex, and read the message. She turned to him, and sent a telepathic message to him.

'You're up against Cilan tomorrow.'

Ash nodded in thanks, as he decided to get some more food while strategizing for his battle tomorrow.

* * *

"I just want to say…thanks for inviting me out tonight. I had fun." Steven gave her a slightly lopsided smile, which looked good on him.

"I had a good time too." Pakura replied. "Thank you for being an entertaining date." Good, she had rehearsed it well.

"I try." Steven said, bowing. "I'm really sorry for cornering you that day."

"It's fine." Pakura waved it off, as she knew he and Lance were coerced into it by Cynthia.

"I owe my great night to you, though." Steven smiled. With that, he leaned down and kissed Pakura on the cheek, and pushed a piece of paper with a set of numbers in her hand.

"What's this?" Pakura asked, though she had an idea.

"My Pokégear number, in case you need a friend to talk to. One more friend won't hurt, right?" Steven grinned, and waved goodbye to her, before entering the Tower.

Pakura shook her head, but decided to enter his number in her Pokégear, and headed towards her Secret Base with her Sylveon and Skitty, where she kept a few changes of clothes there, and even some shoes. She sighed as she changed into a casual dark blue blouse with ruffles at the cuff and a black skirt. She made a mental note to store some jeans in her closet, since she doesn't seem to have any in her Secret Base.

"I'm not any better than Cynthia." Pakura muttered, as she left for her cave.

 _"What makes you say that?"_ Pakura jumped, and saw Shiki falling into step beside her, munching on a pack of potato chips she had bought for the pantry.

"You know what I mean, Shiki." Pakura shook her head, as they reached the cave. "I mean, when I first met Ash, the only reason why I took him under my wing was because I needed his abilities. If not, I wouldn't even have bothered training the child. From anyone's point of view, I'm a power player that saw Ash as a piece in my games."

 _"But what you didn't count was the fact that you fell in love with him."_ Shiki acknowledged. _"Ultimately, you saw him as more than just a piece. You saw yourself in him, admit it."_

"And how long do you think my feelings for him would last?" Pakura dropped her illusion of amethyst eyes, revealing the permanently red eyes. Sylveon decided to venture deeper into the cave, probably to look for her mate Espeon.

Shiki sighed, as he looked at his fiancé's red eyes. He knew Pakura doesn't have much time left, with the way she misused Scarlet Anger for her own benefit. Although she may not suffer the physical consequences thanks to her Regenerative Healing Factor, she was not immune to the mental damage it would do.

"Ash would feel even worse if he finds out the truth behind why I took him in." Pakura ran a hand through her hair. "He'd probably think my love is because of what he has now."

 _"That's not true. I mean, you don't need anyone to get publicity for you. You can get your own without a problem. Unlike Cynthia, your love is genuine."_ Shiki patted her on the back, one of the very few comforting touches she had ever received, and ironically, most are from him.

"I don't think Ash would believe me if he finds out." Pakura shook her head.

 _"Trust me, little one, I know you best."_ Shiki gave her a soft smile. _"That's why I suggest to skip the drama, and stay with me."_

"But…" Pakura started, but Shiki placed a finger on her lips.

 _"Tell me, Paku. Are you sure Ash would stay with you forever? Even the best of friends would part, you know. He already became a Champion, and he doesn't exactly need you to mentor him anymore."_ Shiki said in a matter-of-fact tone. _"Does he understand how you work like I do?"_

Pakura bit her lip, as she knew Shiki was right.

Shiki took her silence as a no, as he went on, _"I'm right here, and I will protect you. I won't let anything happen to you."_

"I have no reason to doubt that." Pakura replied, sighing.

 _"You know I love you very much, right?"_ Shiki stated.

"I love you more." Pakura gave a tremulous smile.

 _"I love you most."_ Shiki grinned at her. _"Don't forget it."_

Meanwhile, her Sylveon and Espeon were watching sadly, and looked at each other.

 **"Do you think she'll realize it?"** Sylveon had tears in her eyes, nervously clutching to an Egg they had made.

 **"If anyone should know the best, it's her."** Espeon narrowed his eyes. **"After all, she was there when it happened. The mental side-effects of Scarlet Anger is worse. I think she is suffering from schizophrenia."**

 **"What's that?"** Skitty had decided to join them.

 **"It's a mental disorder. Usually, sufferers would have abnormal social behaviour and the failure to understand what reality is."** Espeon said grimly. **"However, she needs to see a doctor to confirm she has it, but she'll never do that."**

 **"I suspect Paku is suffering other mental disorders besides this schizophrenia, though."** Sylveon frowned.

 **"Can you actually blame her?"** Espeon asked dryly, as the other two shook their heads. At that moment, Pakura approached them, and saw the Egg.

"Wow, congrats, you two!" Pakura said sincerely, and Espeon and Sylveon looked at each other proudly. Pakura picked up the Egg, and went on, "Although, I think I have enough Eeveelutions….maybe I can give the Egg to someone where you can keep a close eye on your child…"

A light bulb seemed to light up in her head as she knew the perfect person to give the Egg to.

But she'll just do it in the morning.

* * *

Jude was watching Pakura and Steven with his Grandiculars via the balcony. Steven started talking, and Pakura occasionally opened her mouth to reply a few words. Steven seemed to nod, and he saw Steven say a few more words before he leaned down and kissed Pakura on the cheek, and place something in her hands, probably his Pokégear number or something.

"Oh my God!" Jude exclaimed. Did he just see Steven Stone kiss Pakura on the cheek without being slapped? As if it wasn't weird enough, Ash just had to choose that moment to enter the living quarters via the elevator.

"What are you doing, Jude?" Ash wanted to know.

"Er…nothing much." Jude replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pakura and Steven parting ways…Steven towards the Tower, Pakura towards the forest.

"That clearly did not look like nothing to me." Ash replied. Then, to Jude's horror, he said, "Oh I know what you're doing. You're spying, aren't you?"

"What? I'm not." Jude was incredulous. There's a difference between collecting information and spying, thank you very much.

"Yes, you are. You're holding a pair of Grandiculars Phillip had made, and from the balcony, you can see anyone who is out in the open. What did you see?" Ash snatched the Grandiculars from Jude, and hit the "Replay" button.

Jude watched Ash nervously, as he stayed silent after putting down the Grandiculars. Jude thought Ash was now like a ticking time bomb ready to explode, but he merely said, "The world has gone completely insane."

"Are we going to give her a hard time about this?" Jude asked, only to yelp as Ash hit him on the head, and said in an even voice, "We can't say anything to her about it. Because she can never know we are doing this. Spying on her, I mean."

"Ok…" Jude shot him a look, and went back to his room, leaving Ash in his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Ash's mind is in a turmoil. Sure, the kiss was not on the lips, but on the cheek is the closest they can get. Why did Pakura let Steven do that to her?

He should be happy for Pakura if she indeed found love….if they are a couple that is.

If they are dating, he'll throw up like the first time he saw Pakura torture someone for information. Why did she have to find it with Steven Stone? What does he have that he doesn't…?

Oh, there he go again, comparing himself to Steven Stone. Why did he care so much?

"You know, Ash, if you're wondering, no I do not love Steven Stone." A voice said, and Ash jumped to see Pakura folding her arms. Speak of the devil.

"But, you went to the dance party with him." Ash pointed out.

"And you went with Shauna, but do you love her?" Pakura countered.

That shut Ash up, as he did not reply.

"If you don't love him, then why did you let him kiss you on the cheek?" Ash asked, and covered his mouth as he realized what he just said.

"How did you know that?" Pakura was puzzled.

"I happened to look out the balcony and saw you and Steven." Ash half lied. "I wasn't peeping, though. Jude saw you too."

"You see, I let him because it was a friendly gesture. I used to do this with a friend of mine back in my travelling days." Pakura explained.

"I still think you and Steven are going to be a couple soon." Ash said, though he wasn't convinced.

"You are free to think what you will of the kiss Champion Steven gave me." Pakura remarked. "Even I can do it to you." With that, she gave Ash a kiss on each cheek. Ash felt the place where her lips had touched him burn.

"Well, then, good night Ash. Try not to stay up too late." She shook her head in amusement, and left for her room.

'I should fix this...this bad habit of playing with my targets.' Pakura thought. 'Oh well, perhaps in my next life or something. With Ash's denseness, it'll take me being dead for him to wake up or something. Not that I'd care, since if I'm dead that means I'd be marrying Shiki in the other realm or something. Speaking of Shiki, I wonder where he went.'

'What just happened?' Ash thought, his face now redder than Lance's hair. One thing is for sure, though. He is never going to wash his face for a while.

* * *

 _Ash found himself in the same beautiful garden, and wondered what he was doing there again. He sat down and stared at the clear water, and he heard footsteps. Before he knew it, that someone sat down next to him._

 _"You really grown, haven't you, Ash?" A familiar voice said, and Ash looked up to see Sir Aaron, in his Aura Guardian outfit, complete with a staff._

 _"Sir Aaron?" Ash was surprised, and Sir Aaron nodded._

 _"I'm not here for leisure talk, Ash." Sir Aaron said. "I want to tell you the truth, since you are of age already. The fact is, Queen Ilene of Rota…she couldn't have any children because because she had tubal cancer. She removed her fallopian tube via surgical methods, which rendered her infertile."_

 _"Oh dear…" Ash was at a loss of words._

 _"So she would have to name the next heir herself, and yes, I know I'm a Knight, but I was slated to be the next ruler of Rota if anything happened to Queen Rin and if she didn't have any children." Sir Aaron explained. "The fact was, she never envisioned a situation like this would happen, since she is fairly young, and even I was certain that she would find a good man to marry and have children. But, now, unfortunately, there never would be. And since you're my descendant…" Sir Aaron trailed off._

 _"What?" Ash was puzzled that Sir Aaron stopped halfway._

 _Sir Aaron looked disappointed. "Ash, don't you know?"_

 _"No…" Ash said, though he knew where this was going. "I guess not. Know what?"_

 _"You are the heir to the throne of Rota. The Crown Prince." Sir Aaron answered._

 _"Sir Aaron, I am sure you are not aware of this, but I am already a regional Prince." Ash said. "How can I be the Crown Prince to another kingdom?"_

 _Sir Aaron nodded. "I know, but it's not that bad, now you think of it. Since you are already a Prince, you would have the experience of running another kingdom."_

 _"Oh yeah? How can I, a murderer, be a Crown Prince?" Ash asked sarcastically._

 _"Queen Ilene doesn't actually believe that you would do that." Sir Aaron admitted. "And I know it wasn't you, since I talked to your mother. I'm appalled at what your former friends did, actually."_

 _"So Queen Ilene is looking for me, I suppose?" Ash leaned back on the tree._

 _Sir Aaron nodded. "She's waiting for you to reveal yourself, since she knows you're probably in hiding. If you want to decrease the workload in running Rota, I suggest you look for a Crown Princess, which is your wife. Find someone that you love who is also capable of fair ruling. Take your time to think about it, and get someone to take care of your prince lessons, as part of your duties as the heir."_

 _"Why?" Ash asked._

 _Sir Aaron looked at him, and said in a serious tone, "You'll most likely be attending functions of state, such as the funerals of world leaders and opening balls once you claim the title of Crown Prince, and they'll expect you to behave like a Prince. Our people would also be watching how their future ruler conducts himself."_

Ash opened his eyes, and sat up. Great, now he's the heir to the crown of Rota, and he needed to marry someone to boot. If word gets out that he was BOTH the PAL Prince and the Rota Crown Prince, he was going to be bombarded with letters proposing marriage. He left his room, and found Pakura reading again. He blushed as he remembered their last encounter.

"Well, what dream this time?" Pakura asked, without looking up.

Ash sighed, but he told her, and Pakura seemed amused.

"Well, Prince of two Kingdoms. Who would have expected?" Pakura muttered. "Why don't you just marry two wives, one for the Crown Princess of Rota, and one for the PAL Prince's Consort?"

Ash shook his head. "I rather just marry someone who could handle the duties as both the Crown Princess to Rota and the PAL Prince's Consort. I don't want to have two lovers, I just want to be loyal to one, you know? I don't want to marry for political purposes either. I want to marry for love."

Pakura nodded, agreeing with his words. "But what if the person you wish to marry is not capable of ruling a kingdom?"

Ash looked concerned. "I'll figure something out." He replied, not very confidently.

"You know Ash, you don't have to do everything by yourselves. That's what the other members are for in our region. I'm also here to back you up on our duties. Rota, on the other hand, only has you….and the Crown Princess when you get married. If the someone you choose as the Crown Princess is not very good at ruling the kingdom, I'm sure you can do all you can to help her, and be assured that all of us would be able to cover for you in PAL. I got your back, Ash."

Ash smiled in relief. "Thanks, Paku. Oh, I want to ask one thing."

"What?" Pakura sounded exasperated.

"You see, I know I'm not an ordinary Prince and I never really attended social events so I never actually learnt how I should behave as a Prince and what I should know, so…"

"So you're asking me if I could give you prince lessons." Pakura finished the sentence for him.

Ash nodded in affirmation. "I know you're the Princess, and you're the one that attends the social events as the ruler of our region, so I thought you'd know how to act and what to know, stuff like that…." He trailed off lamely.

"Very well." Pakura sighed. "We will begin tomorrow. We'll meet in the Plaza directly after all of our matches end. I advise you to take one step at a time, don't bite off more than you can chew, since you already have a lot on your plate now. However, in the rare event that you find yourself overwhelmed….you know I'll be there to back you up. Just don't disappoint me. Goodnight, Ash." She nodded reassuringly, and left for bed.

Ash smiled in relief, as her words made him feel better.

* * *

"Crown Prince of Rota?" Jude was amused as all the other Elites (except Pakura, as she was at the living room reading the newspaper) sat down for breakfast. "So when did you find out about it?"

"Yesterday." Ash replied, grumbling at the prospect of more work. "Hopefully, no one else finds out."

"Come on, Ash. It's not like it's a bad thing." Rosaline said. She was forced to come out of the hospital due to her upcoming match with Roxanne. Ash shot her a "Are you kidding me?" look.

Phillip sighed, before saying, "Rosaline, you obviously never been a Princess before, and considering you got the least authority here, you subsequently have less work to do as well. Please, keep quiet for a bit."

"Sorry." Rosaline looked apologetic, as Jude gave Phillip a look that clearly stated he thought Phillip was a little harsh on Rosaline.

Pakura then spoke up from her place at the living room. "If he's the Crown Prince, in other words, he should be aware that Queen Ilene has a total personal worth which, including real estate property and the palace's art collection…" Here, Rosaline's eyes lit up. "…is estimated at over thirty billion Pokédollars."

"Wow, Ash. You're probably one of the richest people in the world, and now you're the prince of two 'kingdoms.' Imagine the girls that would come flocking to you in the hopes of someday being able to become your trophy wife and squeeze out a kid or two for you." Jude joked, and Ash glared at him.

"Shutting up." Jude said.

"Well…..I think Ash is the older women type." Phillip shook his head, sipping his tea. "After all…she's older than him." He did not dare speak her name, as the last time he did, he could swear there was something about the others' auras (sans Ash, of course) that screamed murderous rage for a split second, though it vanished as quickly as it came. It looked like the other three, like him, hated Cynthia as well.

However, they could not do anything as Cynthia was one of the most popular Champions, even in their region. It did not help that to everyone, she was a strong and independent woman with the desire to help other trainers grow and expand bonds with their own Pokémon.

"I don't go for girls who are easy to get." Ash rolled his eyes, as he took a bite of honey crumpet.

"Lay off him, boys." Pakura spoke up. "Who he chooses is none of our business." She paused before saying, "Well, at least Ash doesn't have to do a lot of accounting paperwork when he claims his Rota Crown Prince title, considering the people of Rota have traditionally never paid income or property taxes." They all looked at her, wondering how she knew all that.

Noticing their questioning stares, Pakura said, "What? I read a lot, that's all. It's all stated in the Rota: A History."

"Can I borrow it?" Rosaline asked eagerly, as history is one of her favourite subjects.

"Sure." Pakura shrugged. 'That's the least I could do for your last days of your life.' She thought savagely.

"We better not share this info with just anyone." Phillip finally said. "He already has enough to deal with."

"Or else they'd be all over you like sweat on a Rapidash." Rosaline nodded to Ash. "Not that they are not already all over you, but we don't want to make things worse, do we?"

"True. I would rather not have a girlfriend at all than one who is using me for my money and positions or for any reason, except that she likes me for me, and nothing else." Ash agreed.

"Though, since everyone already knows you're the PAL Prince, it's going to be hard to tell which girls like you for you, and which girls like you for your crown." Jude said. "Except someone who doesn't need you to be in the spotlight." He gave a look to the two female Elites, and had his gaze on Pakura a second longer than he had his gaze on Rosaline.

'Why do I have the feeling that the others seem to think I should give up on Cynthia and go for someone else?' Ash thought. 'I mean, Cynthia is practically perfect. What's not to like about her…' Ash suddenly remembered Pakura's warning. 'No, I better wait and see if Cynthia is the real love of my life before asking her out.'

'Come on Jude, there's that fortune paper asking me to choose if someone was my lover or my captor. I hope it does not mean what I think it is.' Pakura inwardly sighed.

'Of course Mama is The One for Papa!' Manaphy thought, as he was listening to the conversation while eating his breakfast. 'I won't have it any other way.' If anyone ever tried to get in the way of his parents in front of him, you can be sure he'd stop them with a Scald to the face.

* * *

"Where'd you get that Egg?" Rosaline asked Elesa, who was holding onto an Egg case.

"An anonymous delivery." Elesa replied, looking down at the brown egg with a cream-colored zigzag stripe around its middle. "It was generous of the person, though I wish I knew who gave it to me so I can thank them properly." Just as she said this, the door opened and the Kalos entourage filed in as well, with Diantha in the lead.

Siebold saw Rosaline at the front row, and chose to sit beside her. The others, noticing his detour, decided to sit down with him.

Just like that, the PAL Elites were sitting among the entire Kalos entourage, much to the confusion of the other Elite members (sans Pakura, as she was getting ready for her match), as usually the seats in front would be taken by them, leaving a few spaces unless someone else chose to sit with them (which was unlikely since they are rather isolated). The only empty seat was the one next to Ash.

'Just let them sit. What's the harm?' Jude sent them a telepathic message, and they dropped the matter.

'Oh dear, the Kalos people had already taken those seats.' Cynthia thought when she arrived with her Sinnoh entourage, locking eyes with Ash, who smiled at her. She smiled back, and that was when she noticed that there was still a space in the front row, which was located next to Ash. She made a beeline for that seat, and asked Ash, "Hi Red, mind if I sit here?"

The PAL Elites stopped talking and looked up at Cynthia, and their expressions darkened.

"Oh, hey Cynthia." Ash greeted amiably. "Sure, hi."

Jude and Phillip caught each other's eye, and nodded. Jude wet the seat slightly with his ability, and Phillip placed an electrical layer on the seat on top of the wet layer as Cynthia sat down. As soon as she sat down, she screamed in pain, and jumped up. The seat of her outfit, or rather jacket (since her jacket is really long) was now burnt (though it was not noticeable since she's wearing black anyway).

"What's wrong?" Ash asked, looking at the seat, which looked normal to him.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Cynthia looked at him with tear-filled eyes (though it's from pain rather than from hurt).

"What?" Ash looked bewildered. "No, what just happened?"

Cynthia shook her head. "Don't worry, I know you don't want me here." She gave a bitter smile, and moved to sit back with her entourage.

Ash looked puzzled, until he saw Jude and Phillip share a hi-five.

"What did you two do that for?" Ash hissed, realizing they were the ones who caused Cynthia to leave the seat.

"Because for one, that seat is for Pakura, if you have forgotten. Secondly, we don't want her sitting with us." Jude folded his arms, daring Ash to challenge him. Ash glared back, but after a while, sighed and turned back, knowing Jude was right. How did he forget that the seat next to him was for Pakura?

"Pakura would be so disappointed if she hears about what just happened." Rosaline giggled, and winced as she clutched to her ribs.

"Shh." Ash, ignoring Rosaline's remark, shushed her, because Kenneth's about to start the Top 64 Rounds, since he saw Kenneth settling himself in the Announcer's Box.

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Top 64 Rounds of the Pokémon World Championship!" Ken announced. "To kick-start, let's have our first competitors, Elite Pakura and Elite Malva, who would be battling in an ice battlefield!" With that, the platforms lifted Pakura and Malva into the battlefield.

"I do have the type advantage here." Malva said smoothly, smiling somewhat coldly.

"Well done, you've finally learned the Pokémon type matchups." Pakura said sarcastically, which ticked Malva off somewhat.

"You're so amusing….I just want to burn you up with my passion." Malva replied smoothly.

"Bring it on." Pakura gave her a death glare, which made Malva slightly frightened, as her glare promised pain, death and the thirst for blood. Who knew such as person existed?

"Trainers, please send out your first Pokémon." Evan ordered.

"Talonflame, go!" Malva threw her Pokéball and it opened to reveal the Scorching Pokémon."

"Let's go, Vanilluxe!" Pakura sent out her Snowstorm Pokémon.

"Let the battle begin!" Evan declared.

"Talonflame, start things off with Flame Charge!" Malva commanded. Talonflame covered herself in a coat of flames before flying towards Vanilluxe.

"Vanilluxe, dodge and use Hail." Pakura countered. Vanilluxe gracefully dodged the attack, and it started to rain hail on the battlefield, and Talonflame started to take damage from the Hail.

"Ice Shard." Pakura ordered. Vanilluxe fired multiple shards of ice at Talonflame, who only had time to turn around before she was hit by the move.

"Flamethrower!" Malva ordered. Much to her surprise, some of the ice shards did not melt, and it hit Talonflame, causing her to yelp. What was more, Talonflame started taking more damage from Hail.

"Flare Blitz, go!" Mavla decided to use one of the more powerful Fire-type moves.

"Ice Beam." Pakura countered. Both the moves clashed, and to everyone's surprise, the Ice Beam successfully froze the Flare Blitz, and subsequently, Talonflame. However, Talonflame managed to break out due to the Flare Blitz, though the said move was now deactivated.

"What power." Malva commented, looking at the Vanilluxe. "What fun this would be. Talonflame, Flamethrower!"

"Dodge." Pakura commanded, though it was a second late as Vanilluxe got hit by the Flamethrower. It was fine though, as Vanilluxe glowed light green and a little of her health was restored.

"Ice Body." Malva remarked, watching Vanilluxe. "No wonder she called for Hail." Just then, it stopped hailing.

"Now, use Fire Blast!" Malva took this chance to attack.

"Mirror Coat." Pakura countered. Vanilluxe used the move to deflect the move back to Talonflame, who quickly dodged the attack, though she still sustained some damage on her left wing.

"Steel Wing!" Malva called out, and Vanilluxe was hit by the super-effective move, though she did not seem fazed. She simply shook her head and got back into battle stance.

'Her next move is most likely a status move. I have to prevent that.' Pakura thought. "Use Taunt." This successfully prevented Talonflame from using status moves, which frustrated Malva as she was about to use Bulk Up.

"Toxic." Pakura said, and before Malva could react, her Talonflame was now badly poisoned.

"Talonflame, use Acrobatics!"

"Double Team." Pakura commanded. Talonflame became confused by the multiple copies of Vanilluxe, and Malva said, "Just attack them all!"

"That's what I was waiting for." Pakura gave a strange smile, and as the copies were dissipated by Talonflame, Vanilluxe appeared behind Talonflame. At the same time, Talonflame had her health chipped away thanks to Toxic.

"Hurry, use Flame Charge!" Malva ordered.

"Rain Dance." Pakura countered, and Sylveon automatically used Protect on her and the others as it started to rain on the battlefield. However, Vanilluxe was still hit by the Flame Charge, which also increased Talonflame's speed. Talonflame shuddered as the poison was sapping at her energy.

"Now, Water Pulse." Pakura smirked, and Malva was surprised that Vanilluxe knew Water Pulse. The Water Pulse hit Talonflame in the face, and she was shot backwards.

"Talonflame, use Brave Bird!" Malva shouted, and surprisingly, Pakura let the Brave Bird hit. Talonflame, however, was damaged by the recoil and the Toxic.

"Now, finish it with Avalanche." Pakura instructed, before Malva could react. At that moment, she realized why Pakura allowed Vanilluxe to be hit. A dark cloud appeared above Talonflame, and chunks of clear ice rained down from the cloud and continuously stuck Talonflame. Talonflame fell onto the ice battlefield with swirls in her eyes.

"Talonflame is unable to battle. Elite Malva, please send out your next Pokémon." Evan announced.

* * *

'And that is why Paku swept Rosaline's team like it was nothing.' Ash thought. 'People seem to think they can wipe her entire team with a Fire-type, but type disadvantages mean nothing when you're one of the Elite Four, especially if we have taught our Pokémon some moves that would make up for the type weaknesses. Poor Rosaline learnt that the hard way.' The said girl was trembling slightly at the power of Pakura's Vanilluxe, no doubt remembering the time where she took on Pakura's Ice team with her Fire-types.

The others were whispering to one another, apparently awestruck at the fact that Pakura's Ice Pokémon can freeze Fire-type moves. Some of the Dragon users, such as Drake and Lance, looked uncomfortable when they saw how Vanilluxe can defeat an Elite level Fire-type Pokémon.

Siebold, knowing what the cause of her distress was, was trying to offer brotherly balm to her old emotional wounds by telling her that she probably did not expect it back then, since Ice-type Pokémon are weak against Fire-type moves.

Ash could tell even Rosaline didn't think he sounded very convincing, and she is very easily convinced by almost anything. For instance, when she's listening to the arguments of the defense and the prosecution in the old case files in Pakura's laptop (apparently Pakura likes to read old case files when she's not on duty or doing missions for the region), she almost always agree with whichever side is talking at the moment, no matter what they're saying.

Still, Rosaline, from what he understood, could use a lesson in humility and empathy, since she frequently told the others, who are not exactly what you'd call happy campers after what they gone through, that happiness is what they need. It's almost as if she was rubbing it in their faces that she was the only one with a normal and happy childhood and life in general.

'I wonder why Paku let her in.' Ash stared daggers at Rosaline, but he was soon distracted when Malva sent out her female Pyroar, while Pakura chose to stick to Vanilluxe. Once again, when the battle started, she started off with Hail, mainly because she wanted to make use of Ice Body to restore Vanilluxe's health while battling.

"Pyroar, use Hyper Voice." Malva commanded. The Hyper Voice seemed more powerful than usual, which made Pakura realize that Malva's Pyroar's Ability was Rivalry. Before she could react, Malva called for Pyroar to use Roar, which forced Vanilluxe back in her Pokéball, and dragged out her Castform, which was in Snowy form.

'Oh well, this just gives me an advantage.' Pakura shook her head. "Castform, Ice Beam." Castform fired the Ice Beam, which Pyroar dodged, but one of her forelegs got frozen. Pyroar skidded on the ice battlefield, trying to keep her balance.

"We'll just have to do something about the ice." Malva said. "Flamethrower!"

"Hydro Pump." Pakura countered. The Hydro Pump effectively extinguished the Flamethrower, and Pakura called for a Thunder Wave, which paralyzed Pyroar.

"Incinerate!" Malva ordered, and Pyroar's body turned white, and she charged towards Castform.

"Shadow Ball." Pakura called out. The audience was puzzled, as Pyroar was a Normal-type and hence, immune to Ghost-type moves. This led them to ask themselves what was Pakura thinking? Their question was answered when the Shadow Ball hit just in front of Pyroar, slowing her down, enough for Castform to attack with Blizzard.

"Fire Blast!" Malva commanded. Pakura told Castform to redirect it with Thunderbolt, and the Fire Blast hit the ground, melting some of the ice on the battlefield.

"Disable." Pakura ordered, and Malva was frustrated as Pyroar could no longer use Fire Blast.

"Flame Charge!" Malva instructed, and Pyroar started to use Flame Charge to try and increase her speed. She was slowed down by her paralysis, however.

* * *

"Not a bright idea Malva has here, using Flame Charge directly on the battlefield." Jude commented as he watched Castform dodge the Flame Charge over and over again. "I mean I can understand Talonflame, since it can fly, but Pyroar?"

"Agreed." Siebold was watching his fellow Elite battling Pakura. "Malva overlooked one crucial thing. Well, she isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. She has good intuition, true, but it looks like she is outsmarted this time."

"What are you two talking about?" Lucian asked the two.

"It's an Ice battlefield, Lucian." Bertha answered. "Tell me, what form does ice take when it's melted by fire?"

"Water…uh oh." Caitlin realized what was going on.

"It looks like she just proved herself to be one of the smartest battlers here." Volkner commented. "She's definitely more than just a pretty face."

'Well, duh. Otherwise, she wouldn't be our Leader.' Ash thought, as he watched the ice battlefield turn into a water battlefield. 'Paku must have deliberately asked Castform to keep dodging.' He watched as Pyroar managed to his Castform, sending it backwards. Pyroar was about to chase after it, but realized that she was standing on a patch of ice surrounded by water.

"Oh, no!" Malva realized her careless move caused Pyroar to be surrounded by water, and being part Fire-type, she would naturally hate the water.

"Noticed too late." Pakura sighed. "Castform, use Headbutt." Castform headbutted Pyroar into the water, and Pyroar was revealed to be able to swim.

"You sure have tricks in your sleeve, Elite Malva." Pakura commented.

"Same goes for you." Malva replied. "Pyroar, use…"

"Thunder." Pakura cut her off. The water increased Thunder's power, and Pyroar screamed as she was electrocuted. When Thunder ended, Pyroar was shown with swirls in her eyes.

"Pyroar is unable to battle. Elite Malva, please send in your last Pokémon." As he spoke, the damaged ice battlefield went downwards, to be replaced with a fresh new ice battlefield.

"Houndoom, go!" She sent her Dark Pokémon as her final one, and Pakura took note of the Houmdoomite it was wearing. Pakura chose to stick with Castform this time, which has turned back to Normal form.

"Let the battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Start things off with Hail." Pakura decided to make the first move. The Hail successfully turned Castform into Snowy form, which is the Ice-type.

Malva took out her necklace containing her Key Stone, and said, "Blaze up, Houndoom! Mega Evolve!" The Houndoomite reacted to her Mega Necklace, and Houndoom Mega Evolved into Mega Houndoom.

'A Mega Evolved Pokémon with a type advantage is going to be troublesome.' Pakura thought.

"So, my fellow Elite. What would you do?" Malva asked.

 **BP: (Questions are underlined)**

 **Ok, for some reason, I couldn't upload the MS word document, so I erased an old document I already uploaded and replaced it with my latest chapter. Please understand it may be a while before I can upload the next chapter because of time constraints.**

 **I think by now you all know that Pakura is probably going against the Elites and Ash. Whether or not you interpret her actions as evil is up to you. Do you think she is acting on her own choice, or is it the Scarlet Anger talking? Does Pakura actually love Ash, or was it simply the fact that she just need his abilities for the sake of her region? It's up to you readers to decide.**

 **OK, so as you all know, mysterypink98 and I are no longer friends. I kinda expected it though, so it wasn't really a huge blow to be honest *frowns, and then shrug* She never said what to do with her character, so I leave Rosaline's fate up to you readers. I'll probably add some personality traits in Rosaline or something. If she has a problem, she can come tell me personally.**

 **While Rosaline will make an appearance in Heartsong Symphony and The Unlikeliest Second Chance at Life, she will not make an appearance in the future Ashura Kurobane series. However, I might make references to her character or something, who knows?**

 **So the good thing is, I have not given up on this PAL Project, and I never will. Anyway, as part of the Fanfiction Project, I started some new pages in my PAL Series Wikia, where I added TV tropes for the characters in the story and the story in general.**

 **Please help out by adding pages if you can and add the tropes I have missed for the characters. So far, I only did Pakura and Phillip, but feel free to add others as well, or you readers can help me out with the TV Tropes found in the story in general.**

 **As for the Ashura Kurobane, as of which Eeveelution he should evolve his very first Eevee (given by his parents of course), Espeon is in the lead with 15 votes, and Sylveon is at a close second with 13. Umbreon also has 12 votes. Who knows, maybe the other Eeveelutions may catch up. Do continue voting.**

 **Now, I recently had this funny idea that the Kurobane couple, Shiki and Amethyst, should both be lawyers. The question is, should I:**

 **A: Put both as Defense Attorneys**

 **B: Put both as Prosecutors**

 **C: One as DA, another as Prosecutor (but if you choose this, better tell me who is the DA and who is the Prosecutor)**

 **On another note, the results have been collated, and Ash's new travelling companion is none other than the Elite Leader, Pakura Ameyuri. Look forward to new adventures between the unlikely pair in the upcoming fic, Heartsong Symphony.**

 **In Heartsong Symphony, I came up with this concept called Pokémon Pageants (or PokéPageants for short), which is something like a Pokémon Contest and Pokémon Showcase put together (though it is actually more difficult version of Pokémon Contests)**

 **This would be where Top Coordinators would compete to see who the best of the best is. Top Coordinators who compete in this competition are called PokéPageant Performers.**

 **It is also a very popular event that only occurs in the PAL Region, which is why countless Top Coordinators (whether local or from other regions) often like to go there to show off their skills.**

 **There are two classes of PokéPageants, Normal and Master.**

 **To be able to enter the Normal PokéPageant, one must previously win a Grand Festival, or earn all forty Ribbons in the PAL Region from the Normal Contests and Super Contests (since it isn't easy winning a Grand Festival, so I say both are of equal difficulty). In other words, they must have the title of Top Coordinator before they can participate.**

 **In Normal Class PokéPageants, there would be an Appeal Round, where the Trainer and Pokémon perform together for two minutes and this is where they show off their coordination and beautiful dance moves, in addition the Pokémon must execute their combination moves to help enhance the performance in the duration of the performance.**

 **Three judges (One of them would be a Nurse Joy) would then mark a score upon ten each, and at the same time, the audience must vote to see if the contestant can move on to the Battle Rounds, as there is a certain score they must hit (maximum score is 30) and a certain number of votes from the audience.**

 **If the PokéPageant Performer is able to meet both the score and the vote requirement, they can move on. Otherwise, they would be eliminated.**

 **The qualified 32 contestants would then have a Battle Round of five minutes, where they would have to use their Pokémon to battle each other like in Contest Battles and yet they have to make their Pokémon execute the moves like they were in a performance (just like in a Pokémon Showcase Freestyle Performance)**

 **This is to test the Pokémon's ability to execute their moves with as much grace and elegance as possible and their ability to synchronize. Points would be taken from their opponent depending on how graceful the move was executed, how beautiful the moves were and whether the moves hit their mark or not. Whoever has more points after five minutes is up moves on to the next round.**

 **Whoever wins the Normal Class PokéPageant would be granted the title of PokéPageant Princess/Prince and earn the right to enter the Master Class PokéPageant. As proof of their win, they would receive a special golden pass which is their ticket to the Master Class PokéPageant.**

 **In the Master Class PokéPageants, the competing PokéPageant Princes/Princesses are divided into pairs and they would get to perform individually with one Pokémon and make their Appeal before the pair would have to battle it out. This time, there are no points system, and the Pokémon would have five minutes on the clock to execute their moves as well as obstruct their opponents' moves.**

 **It does not matter whether the Pokémon fainted during the five minutes, as what the competition is looking for is the elegance, beauty and originality of the moves executed, not the battling skills. When time is up (or if one Pokémon faints) from either side, the battle ends and the audience would vote as to which team put up a better Appeal and Performance in the battle.**

 **Whoever receives the higher number of votes is declared the winner of the pair and advances to the next round, as this time, the entire PAL Region would be the judge.**

 **From Semi-Finals onwards, they would have to engage in a Double Battle. To make it more challenging, they must use completely different Pokémon in the Semi Finals and Finals.**

 **Whoever wins the Final Rounds would face the current PokéPageant King/Queen in the battle for the title in a triple battle/performance, and whoever gets more votes in that Title Match would earn (or keep) the title of** **Poké** **Pageant King/Queen.**

 **While there can be many PokéPageant Princes/Princesses, there could only be one PokéPageant King/Queen, similar to a Champion position in a Pokémon League, or the titles of Kalos Queen and PAL Duchess.**

 **In Heartsong Symphony, the current PokéPageant Queen is of course, Pakura Ameyuri, who will be Ash's travelling companion who would be aiming for the PAL Duchess title in the story.**

 **What do you think of this PokéPageant concept? **

**A: I like it, I think you should put it in.**

 **B: Nah, it's too complicated.**

 **C: I like the idea, but maybe you could call PokéPageant and the people who compete in it something else. PokéPageant Performer sounds a bit old-fashioned (do suggest what terms I could use, because the terms I am using are just tentative.)**


	11. Secrets exposed, Ash's realization

**BP: Sorry for not updating this in a while, but as usual, the assignments got the better of my time, and I poured most of my brain juice into doing my assignments, which left me little to think up of the plot for my next chapter of the original PAL series stories, which is the First Version and the AV, which is this one. I will have to slow down my pace, but believe me, I would never discontinue it.**

 **But of course, I'll be writing without mysterypink98's help, since we aren't friends any longer. Oh, and also, instead of having a summer holiday, I have a compulsory internship for eight weeks, which means I cannot make use of my vacation to update faster, so please understand.**

 **I know I have not updated anything on my Fanfiction Project, but I have been hard at work behind the scenes thinking up of future plots and what stories I should write next when I finish these stories (PAL Chronicles is going to be completed soon), and what the stories were going to be about. Unfortunately, for those stories I thought of my own, Rosaline may not make an appearance because for one, she isn't my OC in the first place.**

 **There is something I would like to address: Why I added the Dragon Duo plot in addition to Ash humiliating his former friends, when I could just do the latter. First of all, it was easier for me to write another plot in order to keep the story flow, as prior to writing PAL Chronicles, I read those fics with Ash just humiliating the traitors, it was rather short, and I wanted something long to keep my readers entertained enough for them to want more, and I wanted my story to be unique.**

 **Secondly, since PAL is a whole new region rather than a region Ash had travelled before, I figured I think up of a legend for the region as well and how they played a big role in the running of their region. Of course the current status of those legendary people (usually) are either dead or missing, hence the plot of Ash finding out what actually happened to them all those years ago, and why they disappeared, since I like the idea of Ash being close to the legend of the region he is ruling.**

 **Warning: Marchen Awakens Romance references, and possible other references as well.**

 **Anyway, check my author's notes to read about my new ideas of my Fanfic, and some announcements.**

 **Oh yes. I almost forgot. From next chapter onwards for PAL Chronicles and this story, Core AI will be Beta reading my chapters. Let's give Core AI a round of applause! *claps***

Despite Castform being tired from the last battle with her Pyroar, Castform was able to wear Houndoom out with the super-effective Water-type moves despite it still being an Ice-type thanks to Hail. Just then, the Hail stopped, but Pakura commanded Castform to start it again in order for it to remain an Ice-type.

"Houndoom, use Dark Pulse!" Malva commanded.

"Incinerate." Pakura countered. The ball of fire was enough to stop Dark Pulse, and Pakura then took this chance to attack with a Thunderbolt, which electrocuted Mega Houndoom.

"Feint Attack!" Mega Houndoom disappeared, and Castform looked around, until it appeared behind it and attacked it from behind with a well-aimed Flamethrower. As Castform is currently an Ice-type, it was super effective.

"Castform. Are you alright?" Pakura asked calmly, and Castform nodded. However, Pakura narrowed her eyes as she realized Castform was now inflicted with a Burn status.

'I will have to end the match as quickly as possible.' Pakura thought. "Castform, Hurricane."

"Inferno!" Malva countered. The attacks clashed, allowing Pakura to command Castform to use Future Sight, followed by Disable, leaving Houndoom unable to use the powerful move again.

"Try this. Overheat!" Malva pointed to Castform.

"I shall meet you head on. Use Double Team, and follow it up with Scald." Pakura was not going to back down on a challenge.

Castform absorbed its clones to make Scald stronger, and used it to meet the strong Overheat head on. The attacks clashed, and everyone was trying to see through the thick smoke. Only Pakura was standing in the smoke unfazed as she looked forward with an impassive expression.

When the smoke cleared, the Future Sight chose this moment to strike, and light blue lightning bolts appear from the ceiling and hit Mega Houndoom. Malva looked surprised at that attack as she did not realize Pakura had called for a Future Sight. The move did its trick, and Mega Houndoom fell on the ground, and the Mega Evolution wore off.

"Houndoom is unable to battle. Castform wins. The winner is Elite Pakura!" Evan announced.

"What a fierce battle to open the Top 64 Rounds!" Kenneth commented. "If this is the opening battle, I can't wait to see what the climax would be."

Pakura returned her Castform with a word of thanks. She gave Malva an appraising look before leaving the battlefield. As she reached the lobby, Ash was already there on his way to the Launch Room.

"Good work, Paku." Ash said. "We shall meet in the Final Round."

"Don't you mean if both of us makes it?" Pakura said dryly.

"I think we have a good shot of keeping the win in our region." Ash replied confidently. "Even if we count out Rosaline, we still have four good players in the team. And in terms of statistics, we are the strongest two in our region."

"You never know when the other regional Pokémon League members can surprise us." Pakura shook her head. "I'm keeping a lookout for the Champions."

"But no matter what, I want to fight you in this tournament." Ash grinned.

"You won the last battle." Pakura rolled her eyes.

"True, but you're the only worthy opponent I'll ever have." Ash smiled.

"Whatever, don't forget about our appointment at lunch." Pakura reminded, shooting him a look.

"Won't miss it for the world. Well then, I'll be going to my match now." Ash waved at her.

"Good luck….not that you need it." Pakura shook her head, and left for the bathroom before watching Ash's match. However, as she went into the stall, the doors opened and Pakura groaned as she recognized Dawn's and Cynthia's voices. Apparently, Dawn needed to slip to the bathroom to apply her eye makeup and she had forgotten to do so before she left her Pokémon Center room as she was having her beauty sleep.

She heard Cynthia tell Dawn about some phone call she received from Alder the other night, and Dawn was squealing.

"Oh my God, Cynthia, you are so lucky." She was saying. "I wish Kenny would tell me he loves me! I mean, I know he is fully committed to our relationship, but his idea of romance is paying to have my fries super-sized at fast food restaurants!"

"Dawn." Cynthia sighed good-naturedly. "I don't love him."

Pakura peeked over the stall wall, and saw Dawn widening her mascaraed eyes at her. "You don't?"

"Oh God." Dawn said, reaching out and grabbing her wrist. "There's someone else, isn't there?"

Pakura knew that both of them only had a few minutes before Ash's match starts (then again, so does she). All of them would have to get back to the Battle Arena for the match to begin. And yet, for some reason, Cynthia chose this moment to make her big confession, and went, "Yes."

Dawn nearly spilled her cosmetic bag, she was that excited at the newfound gossip. "So who is he?" Dawn asked, all eagerly, as she packed up her eyelash curler and lip-liner. "The guy you like?"

Cynthia sighed. "It doesn't matter. He is practically married to his duties. He won't look at someone like me."

Dawn whipped her head to look at Cynthia, her hair smacking her face. Pakura rolled her eyes as Dawn had to rearrange her hair before saying, "It's Champion Red, isn't it?" She grabbed Cynthia's arm again, and was probably holding on so tight it hurt, judging by the slight wince on Cynthia's face.

Cynthia took a deep breath and said, "If you tell anyone, I'll kill you, understand? KILL YOU."

Dawn let go of her arm, and started jumping around in a circle. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it." She chanted as she jumped. Then she stopped jumping and grabbed Cynthia's arm again. "Oh, Cynthia, I thought you and Red would make the cutest couple. I mean, I do like Champion Alder and all, but he's, you know." She wrinkled up her nose. "No Red."

"Really? You really don't think it's stupid?" Cynthia asked Dawn.

"Duh." Dawn replied. "Champion Red is hot. And he's the regional Prince." Just then, they heard some cheering, and realized Ash's match is starting soon, and they rushed out of the washroom.

" **What a bitch."** Sylveon flicked her tail in annoyance. **"She doesn't truly love Ash."**

" **Well, Champion Cynthia, you may have people that would support you getting into a relationship with Ash, but you won't be able to get together with him, not if we have anything to say about it."** Skitty sneered.

Pakura stayed silent as she flushed the toilet and opened her stall door. She then walked over to the sinks, rinsed her hands, tossed her paper towel and left the room without any mention of her opinion on what she had heard to her Pokémon.

* * *

"Fighting in the second round of the Top 64 would be Champion Red against Leader Cilan!" Kenneth announced, as the platforms rose to reveal the two participants. "And the field that would adorn the second round is…" Here, the field came out, revealing a rock and water field.

"Both of you, please send out your first Pokémon." Evan ordered.

"Go, my Pokémon!" Cilan sent out Whimsicott as his first Pokémon.

"Golurk, lend me your aura!" Ash decided to send out the Automaton Pokémon as his first.

"Incredible! Champion Red sent out Gorluk, who has a type disadvantage!" Kenneth commented. "Does Champion Red have something in mind?"

"Battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Let's attack before Champion Red has a chance to. Whimsicott, use Cotton Spore!"

"Counter with Gyro Ball!" Ash countered. The Gyro Ball managed to cut through the Cotton Spore that was stuck to Gorlurk, and Whimsicott was hit, though it managed to get up. "Now use Focus Blast!"

"Energy Ball, quickly!" Cilan ordered. The attacks met in the middle and exploded, and Cilan called out for a Sunny Day.

"Got you now. Solar Beam!" Ash snapped his fingers.

"What?" Cilan didn't expect that Ash's Gorlurk knows the move. He had to change his plans if he wanted a chance to win. "You use Solar Beam too!" However, it was too late as the Solar Beam was fired, hitting Whimsicott, and Cilan called for a Mega Drain. Whimsicott dodged the Shadow Ball Gorlurk had fired and got close to it.

"That was what I was waiting for. Toxic!" Since Whimsicott was close to Gorlurk, it could not dodge the Toxic in time, and it was instantly poisoned.

'Too bad his Whimsicott didn't have Chlorophyll as its Ability. Otherwise, it would have dodged the attack and give him a better chance in his battle.' Ash thought. 'Then again, I could knock it out in one hit, but what fun would that be?'

"Focus Punch!" Ash called out, and Gorlurk hit Whimsicott, sending it flying.

'What power.' Cilan thought, as Whimsicott got up, bruises all over its body. 'But how? It isn't supposed to be very effective.'

"My Gorlurk's Ability is Iron Fist. It increases the power of punching moves, so Whimsicott took more damage than usual." Ash explained. "Heavy Slam!" Gorlurk's body became surrounded by a yellow aura for a second, then was outlined in yellow. It then tackled Whimsicott with great force, and Ash finished it with a Fire Punch, making use of the Iron Fist Ability.

"Finish it. Psychic!" Golurk then slammed Whimsicott against the wall, and Whimsicott slide down, defeated.

"Whimsicott is unable to battle. Leader Cilan, your next Pokémon please." Ash watched impassively as medics came to take Whimsicott to the Emergency Room, as they could tell Ash's Gorlurk had dealt extremely heavy damage to it, enough to be qualified as an emergency case.

"Brutal! Just brutal! You can't take your eyes off Champion Red in action!" Kenneth announced as everyone cheered.

'Of course, you're not here to just sightsee. You're here to be defeated soundly while the crowds urge on your opponent.' Ash thought, smirking.

"Go, my Pokémon!" Cilan threw out a Pokéball, revealing a Lilligant. "Let's avenge our friend!"

'It looks like their compassionate personality only goes to their Pokémon. Cilan may seem like an ordinary Gym Leader with an ordinary life, and also the most mature of his friends, but he, like the others, would rather keep things a secret if it meant he would not get in trouble. And this is why I will prolong their suffering and sweeten my revenge.' Ash thought, as he returned his Gorlurk.

"You're switching?" Cilan asked.

"Yeah, I have a multitude of Pokémon at my disposal, so I'm going to use as many of it as possible so all of them have a chance to battle in this tournament." Ash replied. "Samurott, lend me your aura!"

" **Alright! Battle time!"** Samurott cheered. Ash inwardly smiled as his adorable little Oshawott, despite having evolved into a powerful Samurott, still had not lost his love for battle, though now he is more confident to challenge stronger opponents, and not just against opponents he thinks he can win against.

"Battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Let's start things off with Sunny Day!" Cilan ordered.

'Good move, trying to weaken the Water-type moves.' Ash thought. "Alright, Samurott, use Ice Beam!"

"Dodge it!" Cilan grinned, and Ash raised an eyebrow at the speed.

'Ah, so this time the Ability is Chlorophyll…of course.' Ash inwardly grinned. "Keep using Ice Beam!" Samurott fired Ice Beam after Ice Beam, which Lilligant gracefully dodged, and eventually, the rock and water field became an Ice Field instead.

"Solar Beam!" Cilan went in for the attack. As Sunny Day was still in effect, the Solar Beam took less time to charge.

"Counter with X-Scissor!" The X-Scissor successfully cut the Solar Beam in half, dissipating it.

"What the-?" Cilan was surprised.

"Now, use Aqua Jet!" Ash called out.

"Dodge it!" Cilan commanded. However, due to the Ice Beam that had frozen the entire arena earlier, Lilligant skidded further than usual and stumbled in her balance, allowing Samurott to land a direct hit, though it was not very effective due to Sunny Day and her Pokémon typing.

"You should have taught Lilligant how to balance." Ash grinned, as Cilan glared at him. "I gave you a chance to attack and now it's my turn. Samurott, Rain Dance!"

The Rain Dance overwrote the Sunny Day, and it began to rain all over the battlefield.

"Use Scald!" Ash called out, and Lilligant was hit, causing her to skid backwards, nearly hitting the wall. Due to Rain Dance, the power of Scald was increased, and Lady Luck must be smiling down at Ash, as Lilligant now had the Burn status.

"Lilligant! Use Energy Ball!" Cilan ordered.

"Water Pulse!" Ash countered. The Water Pulse overpowered Energy Ball, and went on to hit Lilligant, as she struggled to even remain standing, as the Burn status wore away her energy.

"Dragon Tail, and follow it with Blizzard!" Ash commanded, as Samurott skated towards Lilligant gracefully, and hit her with a powerful Dragon Tail, which sent her flying. The Blizzard damaged her further, but she still managed to remain standing.

"Lilligant, let's use Magical Leaf!" Cilan called out.

"Razor Shell." Ash yawned. Samurott managed to cut ever single Magical Leaf with its Razor Shell, and Ash then ordered a Fury Cutter, which was super effective against Lilligant.

"Leaf Storm!" Cilan shouted out.

"Let's meet it head on. Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered. The two attacks clashed, and before the smoke covered the battlefield, Pakura clearly saw the Aerial Ace cut through Leaf Storm, and true enough, when the smoke cleared, Lilligant was down with swirls in her eyes and damaged all over.

"Lilligant is unable to battle! Leader Cilan, your last Pokémon." Cilan watched with angry eyes as Lilligant was carted away in a stretcher.

"Go, my Pokémon!" His last Pokémon turned out to be Simisage, whom Ash knew had evolved from the Pansage he had met back in Unova. 'So Cilan got his hands on a Leaf Stone.' Ash thought, as he returned Samurott with a word of thanks, and sent out Gliscor.

"Let the battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Toxic, let's go!" Cilan decided to wear Gliscor's health down. Ash merely watched as Gliscor was hit, giving it a Poison status.

"Gliscor, use Acrobatics!" Ash shouted out.

"Let's meet it head on with Brick Break!" Cilan ordered. The two attacks clashed and Gliscor was pushed back, and the Poison status took effect. However, Gliscor did not look worn out, and if anything, it seemed to gain energy from the Poison status.

"What's going on?" Cilan muttered, looking at the healthy Gliscor.

"Simple. My Gliscor's Ability is Poison Heal. It allows Gliscor to recover its energy instead of wearing it down." Ash shook his head. "Should've done your homework. Gliscor, use Aerial Ace!"

Simisage was hit hard with the flying type move, and Cilan was stunned at the Speed.

"Simisage, use Dig!" Ash watched as Simisage burrowed his way into the ground. Ash detected Simisage moving underground with his aura, and commanded Gliscor to use Earthquake sixty seven degrees towards his right from where he was facing. The Earthquake also broke the Ice on the field, and once again became a rock and water field.

Meanwhile, the others gasped at the way Ash commanded that attack, while Pakura was sitting silently watching him.

'That kind of command is only possible if both Pokémon and trainer share an extremely close bond.' She thought. 'If everyone is gaping at this alone, it means they still have lots more to work on in terms of their bond with their Pokémon. Wonder if we would even get much of a challenge later on…..can't say the same for Rosaline, though.'

Everyone watched as Gliscor brutally thrashed Simisage with X-Scissor and followed it up with an Ice Fang, which froze Simisage's arm, and knocked it into the water. Luckily, the water was rather shallow, otherwise Simisage may have drowned thanks to the frozen arm which would hinder his ability to swim.

"Alright, Gliscor, use Return!" Due to the extremely high friendship between Ash and his Pokémon, it was a powerful move, and Simisage got the brunt of it.

"Simisage, Giga Impact!" Cilan decided to use his Pokémon's most powerful move.

"Counter with Acrobatics!" Ash commanded. The two Pokémon clashed, and exploded. Ash knew his Pokémon has not fainted yet, and called for Fury Cutter, and when the smoke cleared, everyone was treated to a sight of Gliscor repeatedly slicing Simisage with Fury Cutter, before ending it with an Aerial Ace. Just like that, Simisage was down with swirls in his eyes.

"Simisage is unable to battle! Gliscor wins! Which means, the winner is Champion Red!" Evan announced. Ash turned and walked away without a word, walking past the medics who rushed over to the battlefield.

He ran into Cynthia, who was leaning against the wall, looking around, and when she saw him coming, she straightened up and said, "Hey."

And then she smiled. A smile that showed all of her perfectly straight white teeth.

"Hello, Cynthia." Ash greeted politely, and Cynthia started talking to him.

"You were amazing at the match." Cynthia commented. "The way you commanded your Pokémon, it's clear you and your Pokémon have one of the closest bonds I have ever seen. It's really cool how you could accurately state the degree and direction of the attack."

Ash could feel his face start to burn, like it was on fire. Who wouldn't blush when complimented by a Champion, much less a beautiful one? "Well, thanks." He said. 'Real intelligent, Ash.' He thought.

"So…since my match is in the afternoon, why don't we have lunch together?" Cynthia asked, smiling again.

"Excuse me, Red is already booked, remember Red?" An icy voice said. The pair turned to see Pakura standing there, arms folded.

'Oh, I forgot!' Ash thought. 'The Prince lessons she agreed to give me.'

"Whatever you want can wait later, right?" Cynthia stepped up to her. "We're going on a lunch date together."

"An impromptu one. But I have made an appointment last night." Pakura replied acidly. "Red, if you really want to blow this off for your love life, I swear I'm never agreeing to any of your requests again."

Ash gulped. He knew he needed her for most of his requests. For her to never accept them meant he might be in trouble. On the other hand, it was a date with the woman of his dreams….or is she?

He looked from Pakura to Cynthia, the latter who was staring at him with a hopeful glint in her grey eyes, and the former looking towards the ceiling, apparently thinking why she even bothered.

With an apologetic smile to Cynthia, he went to Pakura.

"Sorry, Cynthia, but I promised Paku. After all, it's important to my positions. Please understand." Ash bowed, before gesturing to Pakura, and they both left the Battle Arena.

* * *

Ash decided that prince lessons with Pakura isn't too bad. In fact, it might be interesting, as instead of telling him on the table manners with theory, she brought him to lunch at the Palm Court and taught him table manners as they ate. Pakura watched as Ash delicately cut his steak with his knife into bite-sized pieces, before spearing it with a fork and chewing without talking.

"I guess for today, I'll touch a little on Pakura Goldstein, the First Princess. I found out something interesting during my journey before I met you." Pakura said.

"What is it?" Ash sipped on his Coke, which they put in wineglasses.

"Pakura Goldstein apparently foresaw the Secret War that would affect Caldia City. You heard of it, right?" Pakura raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah." Ash nodded. "The city she created which was said to be a kingdom of magic, populated by the most magically advanced people and is the source of all ÄRM with magical properties & magic stones. The ÄRMs were created by her and some others as an inspiration from those weapons called Devil Arms she had encountered while she was travelling the world, and is now the current weapons used by those with magical power to defend our region."

"Yes, that is correct. At least you have been studying on the regional culture." Pakura nodded approvingly. "Actually aura users can also use them. Still, when she foresaw the destruction of the city she had created, she had packed up a Maga Chest, and this Maga Chest contained all the ÄRMs created by her own hands, alongside other objects she dubbed the Phoenix Stones, intended to help jumpstart the now hibernating Caldia City. She locked it with a padlock with no visible keyhole, and the lock is protected with a charm she cast on it that would make the Maga Chest impervious to damage."

"Where did she hide it?" Ash asked.

"She made use of her ability to travel through time and to a whole different place to hide it. That way it would not fall into the wrong hands. Perhaps she hoped that someone worthy would be able to retrieve the Maga Chest, and unlock the padlock. Who knows where the Maga Chest is now, though." Pakura shrugged. "I don't know if it's real though. I mean, according to information I got, Devil Arm is a weapon made out of a defeated Devil's soul." She sighed, as she drank her tea.

"Do they even exist in this world?" Ash asked.

"Who knows….I mean, there is still much more we do not know about the world." Pakura shrugged. "But why would Pakura Goldstein lie about their existence?"

"Hmm….but if what she says is true, then it's also true that Devils, or Demons are a very dangerous species, and can threaten our region and the Pokémon." Ash commented.

'And then there was the fact that Pakura Goldstein returned from her trip nine months later really depressed. No one knew why, but they speculate it might have led to her suicide. There was something that was preventing her from saving herself from Scarlet Anger, but what?' She had a flashback, and her eyes widened. 'Don't tell me….'

"Is something wrong?" Ash asked.

"What?" Pakura snapped out of her thoughts.

"You spaced out there." Ash replied.

"Oh, sorry. Just thinking." Pakura answered.

"About what?" Ash frowned.

"Nothing much. Don't worry about it." Pakura shook her head. "Anyway, I think the Maga Chest is still out there, waiting to be retrieved."

"If only we can find out where she hid it and in which timeline, we can go get it, and restore Cladia City." Ash muttered.

"One thing at a time, Ash." Pakura sighed. "We can get to this matter once the Dragon Duo case is solved or something. After all, you're handling the case."

"I better get to it after this lesson is over." Ash groaned. There was just so much to do and so little time.

"Well then, let's continue with our lesson, shall we?" Pakura said. Ash nodded, and both continued their lunch in silence, with Pakura's occasional comments on Ash's eating etiquette and areas of improvement.

'I'm not buying the fact that it was nothing much. Paku is definitely hiding something from me, and I don't know why.' Ash thought, as he sipped on his Coke. 'This region really holds a lot of big secrets.'

Pakura frowned as she remembered that she had bouts of Accidental Magic when she was younger caused by her own aura, which would sometimes cause her to be in completely different places and even in different timeline, but somehow, she would find her way back. The one time she took Shiki with her by accident was one of the worst, and she was almost sure it was the very same place and very same time Pakura Goldstein had hidden the Maga Chest.

'What happened when Pakura Goldstein visited that place?' Pakura wondered.

* * *

Ash had decided to research on Shiki Kurobane, whom he suspected as one of the members of the Dragon Duo. What he found out surprised him, as he found articles of Shiki winning all the six regional Conferences straight in a row, just like him. The reporters had noted that his talent in Pokémon battling and the fact that he waited a few years before participating allowed experience to be on his side.

He also noticed that the last article that announced his win on the Kalos Conference was seven years ago, and there were no more articles on him. Ash frowned. Surely they would follow such a bright Pokémon Trainer like him, so why aren't there anymore articles on him? He decided to print the articles on him for future references, and as he waited to print them, he noted that Shiki was the winner of the Indigo League in the same year he participated in it, and chuckled at the fact that he did not notice that it was him.

Now he thought of it, the last battle had Assunta's Venemoth using a move Ash later learnt it was Silver Wind, and as Shiki's Jynx dodged the attack, it caused Shiki's hair to be windswept, making it look spiky and stayed that way even as he stood at the first place podium waving to the crowd.

'He looked like he had an easy time in the Pokémon Conferences.' Ash thought. Even back in the Lumoise Conference, he didn't have an easy time against Alain. In fact, he had lost against Alain (and it was the only time he had lost after the betrayal by his so-called friends), but after that Team Flare had attacked, and Alain was revealed to have worked with Lysandre, the Leader of Team Flare.

Ash would have broken down when he learnt of the betrayal as it was like what his former friends did to him recently, but he knew deep down Alain wouldn't have done it if he knew the actual objectives Team Flare had. Pakura wasn't so forgiving towards Alain once she learnt of the fact, however, and exposed him by airing the footage she filmed of his betrayal all over Kalos, revoking his winner status.

Even back then, Ash felt a tiny surge of satisfaction at what Pakura did to Alain, and how things worked out in his favour, as being the runner-up, the winner status went to him instead, which technically meant he won the Lumoise Conference.

Ash was sure that Pakura's subsequent punch broke Alain's spirit more than his face. Heck, Ash thought she might have killed him if not for the fact that he had convinced her not to do so, as he figured Alain probably learnt his lesson, as he was there when Pakura forced him to watch as punishment when she tortured him for a bit out of boredom, before allowing Ash to give Lysandre the finishing blow.

She would have killed him too, if he hadn't stopped her, saying that Alain had turned against Lysandre once he realized his wrongdoing. Pakura did spare him, but warned him that if he did it again, she will make him wish for death. How? Simple, she used her torture of Lysandre as an example as to what she would do.

'Alain probably learnt not to anger her at that point.' Ash inwardly laughed, as he collated the printed articles on Shiki Kurobane, and put it in the file he brought along. He then checked the Trainer Database, and looked up Shiki's Pokémon team, at least the ones he used in all the Pokémon Conferences he competed in.

Surprisingly, despite being from Blackthorn City, he used mostly Ice-type Pokémon, though there is the occasional Dragon-type. Some of his Pokémon had the Key Stone Symbol beside it, indicating he had Mega Evolved it at one point in time.

'A Mega Evolution user, huh?' Ash thought, taking down notes. 'He might be using Ice-type as a cover to not let anyone suspect he is the Dragon Prince. But it contradicts the fact that the Dragon Duo also uses Psychic-type Pokémon to help strengthen the power of their Dragon-types. He didn't use Psychic-type Pokémon in any of the Pokémon Conferences he participated in…wait a minute.' Ash caught sight of a picture of Shiki holding the Silver Conference trophy and beside him was an Espeon.

'It's the Psychic-type Eeveelution, by the looks of it, it is most likely one of his partners, judging by how Espeon is outside its Poké Ball.' Ash thought. 'If he really is an Ice-type user, he would have evolved it into a Glaceon, as it would fit his Ice specialty really well….unless, he is not really one, and is using it as a cover. I was right. That Ice-type specialty is definitely a cover.'

"Shiki Kurobane is the Dragon Prince." Ash whispered. "Of course…."

" **Something wrong, Ash?"** Pikachu was startled when Ash suddenly spoke up.

"Come on, Pikachu. We have a profile to create. And I'll have to ask Paku if she knows Shiki as a fellow Ice Master." Ash concluded, as he logged out of the computer and exited the library. After all, as far as he knew, type experts would know the people that had the same type specialty as them. Ash knew that a lot of them are friends.

While the PAL Elites themselves know who their fellow type specialists are in the other regions, they do not really mingle with them (then again, they are not the social type, except for Jude and Rosaline), but Ash suspected Shiki was in the PAL Region at one point, and perhaps Pakura had met him before.

" **But you have to be prepared of the fact that Pakura might never have met him before."** Lucario warned him. **"After all, you hold the role of the League Champion, but are you friends with the other Champions? No."**

Ash nodded, knowing it was true. The fact remained that due to their mutual roles as League Champions, the regional Champions are all friends, and often meet up for tea or for a chat whenever they could, and Ash had heard that they also compete in friendly battles against each other outside of the Champions Tournament.

Since PAL was isolated from the other regions until now, Ash never got the chance to mingle with them as a fellow League Champion, but then again, he never wanted the chance anyway. Besides, like his Elites, who are different from other Elites (except Rosaline, though. Ash still wondered why she didn't just become an ordinary regional Elite member, and was hell-bent on having the PAL Elite position for herself), he is also different from the other regional Champions, which was something the other Champions most likely won't understand.

Well, whatever. Ash did not agree to hold the tournament in his region to mingle with people. He did it so he can win. After all, he now held the power of all the regional Pokémon League in his hands, and he can crush them easily should they displease him in any way.

But for now, he would have to push all these thoughts aside, and solve the mysteries of the Dragon Duo once and for all.

* * *

Max entered the forest, and began looking for Pokémon to catch. There are so many new and interesting Pokémon he had never seen before in the region, and he'd be damned if he didn't catch some before he left home for Hoenn, and show his newly caught Pokémon off to his rivals. Heck, it would be great if he could show a whole new team to them!

As he was hungry, he decided to set up camp for a while as a resting spot. Luckily, Brock had packed various lunchboxes for him and his Pokémon to eat (he can't cook to save his life). He set up a fire as well, though it was afternoon.

"I am going to beat the Hoenn Champion one day, and show that loser Ash that I am way better than him." Max declared to his Pokémon, as he toasted a pack of marshmallows that Brock had packed, and fed some of them to his Pokémon, being pleased when he saw that Mightyena seemed to like them very much. "And I will try to impress Princess Pakura and I'll get her to accept my marriage proposal before I leave for home."

Unknown to him, the said person was up the tree resting, and due to her Enhanced Hearing, she can hear everything he had said.

"You got to be kidding, right?" Pakura whispered. Sylveon flicked her tail in disgust, while her Skitty growled in anger. "Bet you that a big part of the reason why he likes me so much is because of my looks, and that he wants to be a well-known Pokémon Trainer, enough for him to be called "Prince of Hoenn" or something like that, and he figured that hanging out with me could help make him that way. It seriously sucks being a princess, and having people who are so fascinated by this they can't see the person you are behind the crown."

" **Should we humiliate him?"** Skitty asked.

"Well, Ash did tell me to do so, and he said to do it in any way possible….suppose there's no better time than now." Pakura grinned. "But I know a way where it'll affect the relationship between those friends, and turn them against each other. Just follow my lead."

* * *

"Are you sure we can air this in our show?" Phillip was unsure, when Pakura showed them what she had acquired. "It would be obvious it's us the moment we air it in our show." The four Elite members were sitting in their quarters discussing the footage, which revealed delicious secrets.

"I'm not suggesting we air it in our show." Pakura replied. "I am suggesting we launch an Airtime Assault. Broadcast this to the entire population of the PAL Region, and when this happens, the other regions would catch up to these secrets and would pay our region for permission to air it in their news channel. Since the traitors are actually well-known, it would sully their names for a long, long time."

"How? We aren't the ones having the sole control of the broadcast, it's our news network company." Rosaline said.

"But we have Phillip." Jude pointed out. "About five years ago, he essentially redesigned the underground network that transmits all the programming. This means he can actually hack into it without the Hacker Hunters discovering his trail. Of course, we'll need something to air, and we have it here."

"Oh yes, I can easily break into the feed nationwide." Phillip nodded. "However, the question is when would it be the best time to do so?"

"Are you sure?" Rosaline bit on her thumb. "This is wrong, you know." She flinched when Phillip slammed his hand on the table.

"You're such a coward." Phillip chided. "Still want to play the good teammate? I told you like a thousand times, the PAL Elites are not heroes. We got each other's backs, yes, but we also do whatever it takes to get back at anyone and everyone who wronged us. And now, we are exacting this for our Champion."

"Yeah, you still want to instil your so-called morals? Then leave this Elite, as we are not the heroes you see in movies, books or whatever." Pakura rolled her eyes. "Why did you even want to join us in the first place, if you can't stand this?"

"Phillip, Pakura." Jude shook his head. "She's new. Don't be so harsh."

"Harsh? Jude, Rosaline is older than I am, and she is a legal adult!" Pakura hissed, and turned to the girl. "Ash joined a year after her and he can learn the rules, so why can't she? Well, Rosaline? Are you in or not?"

Rosaline faltered under Pakura's glare and nodded. "I'm in." She whispered.

"Good." Phillip said. "One more time you hesitate, and I swear to Arceus, we're going to look for a replacement. Come on, as I was saying, when do you think it's the best time to interrupt a broadcast for this footage?"

"I think it would be during the recap of the Pokémon World Championships recap, since it is usually broadcasted at night before they show the match-ups the next morning. People are bound to tune in to see the matches for the next day, and other trainers participating would want to see who their opponents are." Jude suggested.

"It'll be best to do it right before the match-up announcements." Rosaline added reluctantly. "That way there would be more people watching."

"And Rosaline, if you let slip this to anyone." Pakura opened her jacket, which was lined with an impressive array of knives. "I will know which knife is the best for torture."

Rosaline, who was trembling, nodded. She really wanted to keep her Elite position, but she was starting to wonder if it was even a good idea to go after the Elite position in the first place without thinking, as back then, all she wanted to do was to prove that she was better than the bullies back home.

She couldn't dwell on it, when the elevator dinged, and Ash returned with a file full of notes that he had made. He was surprised to see the others sitting around the table.

"What are you guys doing?" Ash asked, putting down his file, and approaching them.

"Pakura has acquired some dark secrets that will put the so-called friends of yours at odds with each other. Max had revealed a lot of them when she met him earlier." Phillip replied. "We were planning on airing what Max said in the broadcast, and turning them against one another."

"I simply served him an Innocuous Cup of Hot Chocolate." Pakura shrugged.

"Ah…that one." Jude nodded. "Looks like just a simple cup of hot chocolate…or is it?"

"What did you put inside?" Phillip looked suspicious.

"It's just vodka." Pakura answered. "I heard he was really bad at holding his liquor, and secrets usually pour out when one is not exactly sober. His Pokémon would not notice as I used my Pokémon to distract them." She did not mention that she modified Max's memories after that, but then again, they probably believed Max wanted to keep his meeting with the woman of his dreams a secret.

"Good work, Paku." Ash smirked. "But I have a suggestion: Don't air those that has to do with Brock, Trip, Misty or Iris yet. While it's true we sent their Pokémon to the Emergency Ward, I am sure their time here is not over yet. We'll only air that and add to the humiliation I plan to dish out to them."

"Hmm…..so Max would be humiliated in the sense that he is the one that caused everyone to turn against each other, and it looks like he even admitted secrets about himself in the footage." Jude said thoughtfully. "There's something interesting, though. He also admitted to what really happened the night of your mother's murder and the roles they played."

"We can use it as evidence in your trial, Ash!" Rosaline shouted excitedly, startling Pakura's Eevee so much that she jumped onto Ash's arms.

"You're too loud, Rosaline. Control yourself a little, won't you?" Ash shot a look at her, petting Pakura's Eevee, who calmed down a little.

"Sorry." Rosaline apologized, as Pakura took her Eevee off Ash's arms.

"Phillip, I shall leave you to execute the plan, since you're the smartest among the group." Ash nodded to Phillip. "Make sure they get what they deserve."

"What are you going to plan for the rest that you don't want to air?" Phillip asked.

"Well, Misty is my next target." Ash replied. "I have read the recent news, and there was an interregional petition for Pokémon Showcases to provide pools in their stages for a water performance, and William had agreed if the performer they had chosen is able to promote the beauty of water performances to the Pokémon Showcase judges, which is Kalos Queen Aria, and PAL Duchess Paku. According to the poster, Misty's Water Performance starts tonight."

"Let me guess….you'll want to swap my Pokémon with hers, and sabotage her performance." Jude said dryly.

Ash nodded. "She is a so-called Water Master after all, and you're the one with the Water Pokémon. Paku would help us gain access to the venue where Misty's dressing room is located. After that, I propose Phillip should air the secrets involving her after her humiliation, to add salt to the wound."

"They are sure to suspect us, and go after us." Rosaline sighed.

"We've been through so much shit in our lives anyway, what's one more shit anyway?" Jude shrugged.

"She didn't go through any, that's why she is asking." Phillip jerked his thumb at her. "She has a sheltered life after all."

"Lay off her." Pakura muttered. "She has to find her own path. Even her position as an Elite Four member for this region cannot help her now."

"Wait, we cannot afford her to tell. She tends to let things slip when talking to other people." Ash interrupted.

"But I already promised not to tell!" Rosaline cried.

"Couldn't we trust her?" Jude pleaded.

"Unfortunately, I doubt we can. What if they get her, and she was tortured for information or something? I can't afford this to happen, as she is one of us, no matter how you look at it. No, it's best it's erased from her mind. That way we can be sure that this won't be out." Ash shook his head.

'Are you sure you're doing the right thing?' Pakura sent a telepathic message to Ash.

'I'm sure. Stay out of this, Paku.' Ash replied through his head. Pakura shot him a calculative look, but said nothing.

"Phillip, you know what to do." Ash ordered.

'This is bad. I just hope Ash knows what he's doing.' Pakura thought, as she watched Ash knock Rosaline out, and Phillip erasing her memories by manipulating her electric signals in her brain. Rosaline's Espeon tried to help, but was knocked out by Lucario's Psychic from behind. Pakura and Jude exchanged looks as the events unfolded before them, knowing neither was very happy at Ash's decision.

* * *

"I found a prime candidate on the identity of the Dragon Prince." Ash announced to the group, as he slapped down the file he was carrying earlier. "Everyone knows who Shiki Kurobane is, I believe?"

"Oh yeah, he was a very talented Pokémon Trainer. A child prodigy, they called him. Kind of like you, Ash." Jude nodded. "What about him?"

"He is originally from Blackthorn City. I believe he was born in a prominent family, as Lance lost the position of the heir to the Blackthorn Dragon Clan to him as children." Ash tapped the profile that he made of Shiki Kurobane.

"How did you know Lance lost the position?" Rosaline asked, rubbing her head and wondering why she had a headache.

"Simple." Ash replied, as Phillip served the group some of Pakura's leftover blueberry meringue. "Usually, the heir would be the oldest among the children that the current generation of various prestigious families bore. However, when I delved further into the birthdates of Lance's generation, Shiki is actually a few months younger than Lance. This means that Lance somehow lost the position of heir to him, most likely because the Elders found out that Shiki proved to be more talented than he was. But Lance got it back as Shiki decided to forsake his position as heir."

"How did you know this?" Jude was amazed at how far Ash can progress in the Dragon Duo case.

"I found a letter in Lance's locket." Ash replied.

"Can we see it?" Rosaline requested, as she swallowed a bite of blueberry meringue.

"No." Pakura suddenly interrupted. For a split second, her eyes flashed red, but no one noticed. "We're going to return the locket to Lance once this meeting is over."

"But it's not fair you get to see it and we don't!" Rosaline glared at Pakura, who merely raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, but that is because it's between Shiki and Lance, and I trust Paku not to tell anyone. Can I even trust you to do the same thing?" Ash cut in. Rosaline hung her head, as she would get carried away when talking to new friends or even acquaintances, which was why they did not trust her with their secrets, and only let her in when necessary.

'And Ash already had to erase her memories earlier.' Phillip thought, inwardly sighing. 'At least he is fair, he didn't show it to us either.'

Jude shook his head at Rosaline to signal her to be quiet and listen to Ash, as she had the least authority when it comes to group meetings, being the lowest ranked Elite, and was only the second to be challenged because Pakura allowed her to.

"As I was saying, I believe the reason why Shiki forsook his position was because he was angry. Angry at them, for not treating the little girl better, and giving her a normal childhood like she should be having like the other Dragon Clan children. He most likely hated their ways of handling situations, willing to sacrifice even children to keep their reputation, and why he refused to contribute to the Dragon Clan with his skills." Ash said. "He actually used Ice-type Pokémon as a cover during his Pokémon Conferences as a means of deflecting suspicion off people that he is the Dragon Prince."

"Do you know him, Paku? As a fellow Ice Master, I mean." Jude turned to their Ice-type specialist.

"I definitely don't know him as a fellow Ice-type specialist." Pakura answered truthfully. "Assuming he really is the Dragon Prince, then I do know him a bit when I worked for the Blacklist Department, since he was the Head at that time, but he's always away, spending time with the Dragon Princess or running the region. Never really saw him in the office. In fact, he established a law firm called Legend & Co. Law Offices, so he has a lot of work to do."

"He was a Defense Attorney?" Ash was surprised at the news.

"Boy, you guys got to take a look at the court records and old case files sometime." Pakura looked peeved at the fact that they did not know simple things like that, especially Ash who is supposed to be the PAL Prince and Rota Crown Prince.

"Shiki sure achieved a lot so far. I mean, winning all Pokémon Conferences, and is the strongest Dragon Master in the entire Pokémon World, being good enough to be the PAL Prince at a young age, and a successful Defense Attorney with his own law firm…"

"You know….he would make a good addition to our team, actually." Phillip noted.

"Yeah, but we couldn't find him, otherwise she won't be here, would she?" Jude jerked his thumb towards Rosaline. Rosaline could almost hear the sigh that the other members wanted to let out.

'Excuse me if you don't think I am worthy for this spot.' Rosaline thought. 'I guess maybe I'm not, considering I never really knew what a loss is and the fact that the Elite spot is not a huge honour for them.' She inwardly conceded that the being an Elite member in PAL Region is far beyond her current abilities, and she was only in because of Pakura's mercy. Otherwise, she knew her corpse would be rotting in the torture chamber by now.

"Are you listening, Rosaline?" Ash raised his voice slightly, as Rosaline jolted out of her thoughts to see everyone staring at her. Pakura was apparently in the midst of a facepalm.

'And Rosaline wondered why she isn't assigned the Dragon Duo case.' Pakura thought, before approaching Rosaline, and wrapping her arm around her shoulders.

"You know, Rosaline." Pakura started. "I know Ash is very boring…"

"Hey!" Ash was offended, but Pakura ignored him, and went on, "But I can tell the information that he is feeding us now is going to help us combat the Dragon Duo. If any of us doesn't pay attention, even me, what do you think will happen they confront us, and we are unprepared? At least with the information, we know what their motive is, and deal with them accordingly."

Rosaline nodded timidly, as Pakura went on, "So, if you want to have the remotest chance of staying with us and for the sake of our region, pay attention. I don't want to repeat it again."

Rosaline nodded again, as Pakura said to Ash, "Please continue."

'She let her off pretty lightly if you ask me.' Ash thought, but complied and continued telling the Elites what he knew.

* * *

"On another note, I stole a lunchbox from Max. It contains Brock's cooking." Pakura held up a box containing an untouched lunch.

"Jude, why don't you try it since you're the Pokémon Connoisseur." Rosaline suggested.

The four of them looked at one another, before Jude shrugged. "Alright, I'll try it." He opened it to reveal the contents of the lunchbox, which contained a ham sandwich, Cherry Juice and a green apple. Jude decided to try the ham sandwich. The next second, Jude's face paled and he widened his eyes, before vomiting all over the floor. He staggered a few steps, before fainting.

"Jude!" All the members shouted in horror. Pakura ran over to Jude's fallen body, and flipped him over. Pakura took a look at the sandwich, and saw the yellow substance oozing out of the sandwich.

"What happened?" asked Ash. Everyone except Pakura shook their heads, indicating they don't know what's wrong.

"It's a severe allergic reaction, as Jude is allergic to mustard. Everyone, stay out of Jude's room, I'm going to try and treat him so he can sleep it off." No one questioned her when she proceeded to carry Jude back to his room, as she was the healer of the team, and probably the only one who knew what she was doing at that moment. Even his Purrloin stayed outside as per Pakura's orders.

When she was alone, Pakura decided to knock Jude out using Sleep Powder from her Vivillon, and once she made sure he was asleep, she decided to heal his symptoms using her healing ability, and tucked him in the bed. She decided to plug in some earplugs for him as she knew the incident would cause a shouting match between the remaining three Elites, though she doubted Jude would wake up considering he was a much heavier sleeper than she was.

Pakura scribbled a note to Jude, and took the Water Pokémon he owned that she knew Misty would as well.

"Think he'll be alright?" Phillip broke the silence by asking the two, looking at the door Pakura and Jude disappeared behind.

"I don't know. Like Paku said, it's an allergic reaction, and it's no joke. Look what it did to Jude, and we all know he has one of the highest endurance in the team." Ash replied, folding his arms.

Just then, the door opened, and Pakura came out.

"How's he doing?" Rosaline asked, being distraught, considering she was the one that asked him to consume the sandwich without thinking of the consequences.

Pakura shook her head. "Not good. He hasn't moved a single inch since he was carried to his room. I managed to stabilize him, though, so he should be able to sleep it off. However, he might not wake up in time for our plans, so we have to do it without him."

Ash and Phillip glared at Rosaline, who gulped, as she knew they blamed her for Jude's current condition. She knew that they knew she didn't mean it, but it was hard not to, as she was the one that opened her mouth to ask Jude to try the sandwich without even checking the contents of the sandwich first.

"Ok guys, if we ever want to take those traitors down, we have to stop fighting among ourselves. Otherwise, nothing gets done." Pakura glared at all of them. The three of them looked away, knowing she was right. "Anyway, the three of us would execute the plan as normal. Rosaline, you just go on a date or something. I can't afford things to get worse because of your naivety."

"What about Jude?" Rosaline asked, looking at Jude's door.

"I'll call Elesa to come over to take care of him. After all, she's his girlfriend." Pakura rolled her eyes, as she went to the phone at their living room to connect to the phone located at Unova Gym Leader's floor to get Elesa to come over to their floor to take care of Jude.

"Why do you give her so much leeway, Paku?" Ash asked Pakura.

Pakura, dialling the number on the phone said, "I know you're not happy with it Ash, since we all know that Rosaline is not quite as valuable as she thinks she is. Even I am starting to forget why I let her in, but I have a feeling she needs to be taught a lesson that would scar her forever. You will learn that soon enough, my prince."

* * *

Trip and the others were eating the meals from the Pokémon Center, still awaiting the news of their Pokémon. As they were bored, they also watched the TV provided in the dining room for entertainment and to keep up to the latest news.

Dawn, being the social one, decided to make small talk. "Anything interesting happened to you today?"

"I did." Max laughed.

"Really? What is it?" May was interested, as they paused in their eating to listen to what Max had to say.

Max smiled. "I got to talk to the girl of my dreams!" He said dreamily.

The others groaned. Everyone knew that Max had the hots for Pakura, but she would never give him the time of day. Still, that does not deter Max, as his goal was to get her to date him before his time in the PAL Region is up.

"Ok, that's nice." Iris nodded. "Tell us when you successfully ask her out on a date."

Meanwhile, May was fuming as she believed from what Cynthia told her, she stole Manaphy away from her. Why couldn't the PALites (the term for the locals in the PAL Region) see that their Princess is a Pokémon thief? Isn't poaching Pokémon a crime that is worthy of an execution in their region?

"Will do." Max chirped, as the main newscaster was reading a piece about this year's Pokémon Pageant, PokéPageant for short, being cancelled due to the Pokémon World Championship and other events to entertain and accommodate the guests, and would only be held next year, which meant that the current PokéPageant Queen, Pakura Ameyuri, would have to defend her title against the winner of the Interregional Pokémon Contest. For now, they would show what happened in last year's Normal Class PokéPageant and to enlighten the guests as to what a PokéPageant is.

The TV programme finished with the news, and then changed to an unknown competition that looked similar to a Pokémon Contest. May and Dawn seemed to be interested in the programme, so they put down their forks and knives to watch the program, not caring if their food may get cold.

"Anything interesting happened to you so far?" Trip asked.

"Not much, though I'm preparing for a Pokémon Beauty Contest held tomorrow afternoon." Brock answered. "I hope I win, though, the prizes stated at the poster are really attractive."

"I think you will." Cilan smiled. "You're a great Pokémon Breeder after all."

"Thanks, Cilan." Brock nodded.

"QUIET!" May and Dawn hissed, as they were engrossed with the current programme, and did not want to be distracted by all the chatter their friends were making. The others rolled their eyes and turned to see what was so interesting about the programme. Sure enough, like the main newscaster had mentioned, the programme was now airing one of last year's Normal Class PokéPageants.

On the programme was a PokéPageant Performer about to start performing with her Chandelure. The two of them did a performance which involved showing off their coordination and dance moves, and the PokéPageant Performer's Chandelure made use of its moves to help make the performance even more dazzling. At the end of two minutes, they bowed, to the audience's applause, while the judges gave her a total score of 21.

"Your food would get cold if you continue gaping like that." Misty frowned, tapping both May and Dawn.

"That's definitely something we can compete in. We got to come to this region next year and enter the PokéPageant." Dawn declared. "It looks really interesting and it could be fun."

"Erm….that is not possible, unfortunately." Brock had a guidebook out.

"Why not?" May demanded, angry.

"The requirements of entering even a Normal Class PokéPageant is already very high." Brock explained, reading from the guidebook he had. "You either need to win a regional Grand Festival, or you collect all the 40 Ribbons known in the PAL Region. It's a competition for Top Coordinators, to see who the best of the best is."

May and Dawn groaned, as they had not won a Grand Festival yet, despite their best efforts.

"But no need to worry. I'll win the Grand Festival, win the Normal Class, and then….and then what happens?" Dawn sweatdropped, as everyone facefaulted.

Brock sighed, but explained. "After you win the Normal Class, you get the title of PokéPageant Prince or Princess, depending on your gender, and get to enter the Master Class PokéPageant. While there can be many Normal Class PokéPageants happening in one year, only one Master Class PokéPageant would be held every year. I'll lend you my guidebook later so you can find out how the PokéPageants work."

"Thanks Brock, but could you summarize it and we'll look up the details?" May requested.

"Alright. If you win the semi-finals, you get to advance to the final round, where the current PokéPageant King or Queen awaits. As the winner of the previous Master Class PokéPageant, the PokéPageant King or Queen has a guaranteed spot in the final round, where they must defend their title. If the PokéPageant King or Queen is defeated, he or she must relinquish their title to the winning PokéPageant Prince or Princess. So while there can be many PokéPageant Princes or Princesses, there could only be one PokéPageant King or Queen." Brock replied.

"That is a very interesting competition." Cilan nodded. "It has this unique flavour that can satisfy the high class. I can see why it is very popular in the PAL Region, though unfortunately it is not mimicked all over the other regions, since this PokéPageant competition is already an interregional competition."

"And apparently, according to the newscaster earlier, the current PokéPageant Queen is Pakura." Trip added.

"That's it. I am going to defeat her in a Contest battle and strip her from the title of PokéPageant Queen, and it would be mine!" Dawn declared.

"Not if I get to her first." May gritted her teeth. "She stole my Manaphy, wait until I get my hands on her."

"Would I be the King if I get married to her?" Max interrupted, staring at the ceiling dreamily.

"Max!" Iris said in exasperation, as May and Dawn looked at him incredulously.

"Well, I better go practice and prepare for my water performance tonight. I'd be the most beautiful performer, and not even the Kalos Queen and that Pakura can say anything. I'll help the Pokémon Performers to get their pool for a water performance." Misty winked. "I'll be famous after this, and Water Pokémon will be very popular!"

"Good luck, Misty!" Everyone wished her luck, as she went to deposit her tray and left the dining room.

"Shall we watch her performance tonight?" Trip asked the group as he finished up his lunch.

"Might as well." Iris answered, swallowing her food. "Would give us something to do, and we can support our friend!"

"And I am going to show that bitch what a real Coordinator can do!" May declared. "I will make her return Manaphy to me!"

"Count me in!" Dawn added.

"Yeah, but please, finish your food first." Brock pointed out. It turned out they were only halfway through their meal. May and Dawn started gulping down their food, which made some of them a little disgusted at their eating manners.

"I'm going to go for seconds!" May announced, and rushed off to the food carts around the room.

"She really likes the noodle soup here, huh?" Max watched his sister get more noodles, another bowl of chicken dumpling soup, and even some buffalo bites.

"The Pokémon Center food here is surprisingly in high quality." Cilan nodded. "And the rooms are also better than any of those we stayed in other regions, though in middle class compared to the hotel, of course."

"Wonder who stole our keys." Iris muttered bitterly.

"We make do with what we have." Trip shrugged. "But for now, let's enjoy ourselves, and see what May is going to do with the Manaphy issue. We'll help her, of course, but we need to be careful."

"That sounds like a good plan." Brock replied. "I think I'll get some more food. You guys want anything?"

Brock regretted asking the question as the next second, he was overwhelmed by the dishes shouted out to him by his friends, and he ended up having to write them down so he won't forget.

* * *

"Don't worry, Espeon will be fine." Nurse Joy reassured her. "She just needs rest, that's all."

"I guess you're right." Rosaline forced out a laugh. "But it's really hard, since she's my partner."

"I know how you feel." Nurse Joy nodded sympathetically. "It could be worse, like the group of friends who had all their Pokémon in the Emergency Ward."

"I guess so..." Rosaline trailed off. "I suppose I should take a look at the bright side."

Rosaline sighed, as she decided to make her way back after looking at her unconscious Espeon for the last time for that day, before nodding goodbye to Nurse Joy and her Aromatisse, and leaving the Pokémon Center.

'Well, since I do have a bit of time to myself, I might as well….' Rosaline was cut off when she bumped into another trainer. The trainer was wearing a pink dress that was three-quarter in length with a poofed-out skirt, with white elbow-length gloves and pink heels. Her hair was done up elaborately with long dark blonde curls reaching to her shoulders. She also carried a fan, which made Rosaline sure she was a girl of high class.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Gail glared at Rosaline.

"Oh, sorry." Rosaline apologized. "I didn't see you there."

Gail looked up and down at Rosaline. "Hey, I know you. You're Rosaline Pyra, the Fire/Psychic Elite Four member of this region."

"Yes I am." Rosaline replied. "What about it?"

Gail smirked. "What are you hoping to accomplish when you are here?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Rosaline frowned.

"Come on, stop lying. We all know you getting in was a fluke. I saw the news and everything." Gail fanned herself. "You're real pathetic, only here to ruin this region's reputation."

"Oh yeah!" Rosaline glared. "What do you know? You're not even from this region, so butt out of my business." Honestly, why can't people just mind their own business?

"Really, with attitude like that, it's a wonder how they can stand you." Gail said arrogantly. "My name is Gail, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Rosaline tried to keep the sarcasm from her voice.

"Would you care for a battle, Rosaline?" Gail asked, her voice falsely sweet.

"I…" Rosaline hesitated.

"What, don't tell me you're afraid?" Gail taunted.

"Fine, I accept! I will show you I am worthy of my position!" Rosaline snarled. The two decided to use the back of the Pokémon Center as the venue of their battle, as it had a battlefield where trainers can battle, train or practice against one another.

* * *

"Flareon, Fire Blast!" Rosaline decided to attack once Gail's Druddigon was tired. The Fire Blast hit its mark, and Gail's Druddigon fell over with swirls in its eyes.

"You were saying?" Rosaline smirked. "Your Druddigon wasn't even able to attack my Flareon!"

Gail glared at her. It was clear she was angry.

"You shouldn't talk big if you can't prove it with actions, you know." Rosaline added, winking. She felt much better after proving herself during the battle.

Gail's face reddened, and Rosaline could definitely tell she was not happy about the outcome. Without saying a word, Gail returned her Druddigon and stormed past Rosaline. She went inside the Pokémon Center, presumably to heal up her Druddigon.

"Later!" Rosaline bade her goodbye cheerfully.

 **"You really shouldn't have said that..."** Flareon said to her.

Rosaline looked at him, confusion on her face. "What do you mean? I was just giving her advice, I wasn't insulting her. If she was angry about her loss to me, then she's a sore loser, right Flareon?"

" **I know you're optimistic and very cheerful and all, but back there, you treated the battle as a joke, like how you did back when you applied for the last spot."** Flareon cut her off. **"That is why people say you lack empathy."**

"W-What?" Rosaline froze.

" **Don't tell me you didn't notice."** Flareon sighed, shaking his head. **"The region doesn't revolve around you, you know. You may not be aware of this, but you're acting like you deserve everything you have now and like you're the regional Princess. I say you get your act together before you have to learn it the hard way. Since you're world-famous, everyone knows your family lives in Hearthome City in Sinnoh, and I won't be surprised if they go after your family there."**

With that, Flareon went on to the Battle Tower, leaving Rosaline to contemplate on what she should do. However, she was interrupted when a voice called out to her.

"Siebold!" Rosaline was pleasantly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured you'd be here, considering what happened to your Espeon." Siebold smiled ruefully. "What are you doing now?"

"Nothing much. I was thinking of making an appointment with a friend's friend. He wanted me to show my slides and other artworks, including my sketches. As a fellow artist, I can't say no to that." Rosaline chuckled. "There are other things to think about as well."

"Like the news article from a few days back?" Siebold frowned.

"That's right." Rosaline laughed. "It's focused on me, so I'll have to handle it myself."

"Why don't I help you take your mind off it for now?" Siebold offered. "We can hang out for a bit, catch a movie or two and after that I could make dinner for the both of us. The others are out sightseeing anyway. It'd be good for a second date."

"Wait…you mean the dinner before was a first date?" Rosaline tilted her head.

"It counts, right? I made you dinner, and you showed off your art in your personal gallery." Siebold smiled.

'And here I thought I was the only one who thought it was a date.' Rosaline thought, inwardly sighing in relief, but she said, "Alright, sounds fun."

"Alright then, let's go." Siebold gently took her hand, and lead her towards the Battle Tower. Unknown to Rosaline, there is a paper confetti on her collar which was hidden by her hair.

Meanwhile, Pakura rolled her eyes as she listened to everything that had transpired.

'She definitely needs to learn it the hard way that things don't always go her way, if she wants to be useful to the Elite. Perhaps I should make use of that Siebold boy.' Pakura thought. 'The question is when I should execute the plan.'

* * *

"I never knew they had such a place in here!" Mairin was admiring the food court where she was having lunch with Alain. Alain decided to accompany Mairin to go window shopping as an exchange for her helping him out with his training, considering he was one of the participants for the Pokémon World Championships. She had always wanted to take a look around at what PAL Region sold in their shopping malls, and who was he to refuse her?

Alain was hoping to land a battle with one of the PAL Elites at one point, as he loved a good challenge and an opponent who enjoys their battles as much as he does.

"The food in most of the PAL Region is pretty good." Alain told her. "According to Champion Steven, the Cheesy Onion Noodle Soup is pretty good."

Mairin nodded, as she slurped on the noodles Alain bought her. "Hey! You're right!" Mairin exclaimed. "Oh wait. How much do I owe you?" Mairin started to look in her pockets for her coin purse, but Alain stopped her.

"It's ok." Alain said. "It's my treat."

"Oh, wow! Someone's being generous today." Mairin grinned.

"And there's a TV provided all over for entertainment purposes." Alain nodded towards the TV screen just on the wall next to them, which was currently turned to last year's PokéPageant competition. "Makes for a good excuse when conversations become awkward."

"Alain!" Mairin shouted, but Alain laughed.

"Come on, let's just eat." Mairin huffed, as they settled down on their noodles. As they ate, Mairin took a look at the programme they were currently airing, which was some prize ceremony for the winner of a competition that resembled a Pokémon Contest. Suddenly, they cut to the main newscaster once more.

"And due to the fact that this year's PokéPageants are cancelled in lieu of the Pokémon World Championship and the Interregional Pokémon Contest, whoever wins the Interregional Contest would not only get the Special Ribbon intended as the Grand Prize, he or she would also get the chance to compete for the title of PokéPageant King or Queen with the current Queen, Pakura Ameyuri."

"Huh, Red didn't mention that Princess Pakura is…" Alain started, when he heard the last sentence.

"Alain?" they heard, interrupting Alain. He turned around and saw Ash with his Pikachu and Lucario.

'It's Champion Red.' Alain thought. 'Please, don't humiliate me in front of Mairin.' Alain knew he also had knowledge of what happened during Kalos, and he hoped Ash wouldn't tell the truth to Mairin, who only knew half the story.

"Speak of the devil..." Alain said to Mairin, before forcing a smile. "Hello, Champion Red."

"I didn't expect to run into you here." Ash commented.

"Yeah, me neither." Alain shrugged. "Oh, this is my friend, Mairin."

"Hi!" Mairin greeted enthusiastically, as she shook Ash's hand.

"Hello." Ash nodded. "Cute friend you have here, Alain."

"Thanks!" Mairin giggled. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Paku. We got to get some supplies." He did not mention that it was part of a cake prank that they were planning to use on Misty and to sabotage her. "It's been really busy lately, with me handling the Dragon Duo's disappearance case and all."

"Oh Arceus!" Mairin looked positively excited. "As in the Legendary Dragon Duo?"

Ash nodded. "I'll let you two in on a tip I got. I am almost certain that the Dragon Princess is alive and is walking among us. Hiding in plain sight, they call it."

That perked Alain's interest. "Really? How did you know?" He was considering to have a battle with one of the members with his Mega Charizard X. Just then, an Eevee came running up to Alain and Mairin's table. It yipped at them adorably.

"Hello, little one." Mairin started petting it. Eevee purred again and hugged Mairin.

"It's an Eevee." Alain murmured. "Looks like it's a baby Pokémon, judging by its size."

"Oh, she's nearby." Ash remarked. Alain did not know what he meant until he heard a voice say, "Now, Eevee, what did I say about approaching strangers?" Eevee hopped off Mairin's arms and ran up to an approaching Pakura, who was carrying a few plastic bags, climbing up her back and resting on her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek.

"Well, it looks like I'll have to tell you some other time." Ash replied, as he watched Pakura shake her head with exasperation. "But until I find out the Dragon Duo members' real identity, keep your eyes open and keep each other safe. After all, there is a reason why this region is known as the most dangerous one."

Ash gave a smile, as he exited the food court, gesturing for Pakura to follow him. Pakura gave Alain an unreadable look, before obeying Ash.

"You're shivering." Mairin touched Alain, concern evident in her face. "Is something wrong, Alain?"

Alain knew that Mairin has to know the full story. What Pakura did to instil this kind of fear in him that lasted for almost six years and counting, the reason behind Alain's fear towards her. Ash's warning was also ringing in his head.

" _After all, there is a reason why this region is known as the most dangerous one."_

The way Ash said it so casually unnerved Alain. He almost wanted to send Mairin away, but she won't buy any of his excuses, not when he had given her so many in the past. Pushing her away also hurt her, something he learnt the hard way. By Ash's tone, he suspected that there is more to the Dragon Duo than what the public knows so far, especially their disappearance.

"No, nothing." Alain smiled. "I'm trembling with excitement at the thought of battling the Dragon Duo."

"Why are you thinking so far?" Mairin huffed. "We need to think about your match tomorrow. Come on, let's finish our food and we continue training."

Alain nodded, but was deep in thought. Could he protect Mairin and himself from the potential dangers in the region that are in?

* * *

 _"Well, Paku, since Jude is resting, I am counting on you to pull this one…."_

That was what Ash had said, and that was how Pakura found herself carrying a box that Ash and Phillip had prepared. She sighed, as she waited in the shadows for Misty to show up.

'The things I do for him, and he is in love with that Sinnoh Champion. I'm certain Cynthia won't do this for him.' Pakura thought, inwardly grumbling, though her face showed nothing.

Sylveon seemed to read her thoughts, as she said sarcastically, **"Yeah, Cynthia is totally hot, totally perfect and totally wonderful. It's clear she has her eyes on him, and is willing to wait for him. I wonder why the others dislike her."**

Sylveon was interrupted when she found Misty heading towards the building where her performance is going to be held. She ran towards her, and purposefully bumped into her.

"Hey, watch it!" Misty cried, glaring at her.

Pakura got up and apologized. "Sorry. I just need to deliver this box to Jude, since he got sick. But after that, I had to go for a dinner appointment with the Chairman of the Hunter's Association, and I'm already late for the appointment."

Misty was intrigued. "If you like, I can pass it to Jude. I always help a fellow Water Master."

Pakura nodded. "Thanks." and passed the box to Misty, casting her Mind Control ability to swallow whatever got into her mouth.

Misty smiled, and carried the box back to her dressing room. She decided to open the box, and found a beautiful cake full of icing and chocolate rice.

'Is Pakura sure that Jude can finish that all by himself?' Misty thought 'Judging by the size of this cake, I don't think he can even finish half of it….maybe I should try a slice. He wouldn't notice and I'm hungry anyway.' With that, she took the knife provided and cut the cake.

However, as soon as she did, the balloon containing sedative drugs exploded, showering her face. As soon as the substance touched her tongue and she swallowed it thanks to Pakura's Mind Control, she passed out.

"Mission accomplished. Phillip, have you deactivated the cameras in Misty's dressing room?"

"Yup. It's safe to go in." Phillip replied, just as Ash teleported to her side.

"Come on, let's do this, Paku." Ash announced. Pakura and Sylveon looked at each other before Pakura sighed and complied as she carried Misty's body back to the dressing room, and wiped her face clean, as Ash swapped her Pokéballs, making use of aura to find out which Pokéballs was in the Pokéballs.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Ash." Pakura muttered, as she was ready to inject the antidote so Misty could wake up and make her preperations. "She would blame me as soon as she wakes up."

"You'll be fine, Paku. After all, Phillip can modify the security footage to suit our needs." Ash reassured her.

'Although I don't really know why she puts a camera in her dressing room. Did she think anyone would want to see her flat chest?' Pakura rolled her eyes at the thought. But then again, some boys may like flat-chested girls, who knows?

"You're right." Pakura conceded, as she watched Ash erase part of her memories. "You do have a point."

"I'll admit though, my former friends have grown to be fine looking people, though I hear Dawn went through plastic surgery. They are apparently living the good life, but not for long." Ash said darkly.

'I definitely raised him well. He certainly won't give any mercy.' Pakura thought, as she shooed Ash out so that she could tend to Misty. 'Have I went overboard though?'

As soon as she injected the antidote, Misty's eyes opened, and when she saw Pakura, she snarled.

"You!" She shouted. "What did you do to me?"

"I didn't do anything." Pakura replied calmly and truthfully. 'Not directly, at least.'

"I am sure you did! You must have knocked me out so you can get some guy to rape me, right?" Misty pointed an accusing finger at her.

"Nah, who would want to do that?" Pakura replied sarcastically. "You look like you can't even fit into a bra. I suggest you should use Band-Aids instead."

Misty tried to hit her with her mallet, but Pakura blocked it with a finger, and kicked the hammer away. In the process, she kicked her hand as well, causing her a lot of pain. Funnily enough, Pakura's finger was fine.

"While I still say you should do us all a favour and go curl up someplace and die, I'm here to bring a message." Pakura tapped her fingers against the wall, getting bored with Misty.

"What is it?" Misty spat out, glaring at Pakura. She dare not attack as she clearly saw that Pakura can fight back.

"You better hurry up in fifteen minutes, or we're cancelling your performance." Pakura yawned. That was when Misty just dropped it like a hot potato, and screamed when she realized Pakura was right after checking the clock in her dressing room.

"Oh no, where's my costume?" Misty screamed, as Pakura exited the dressing room.

Ash and Pakura looked at each other like they couldn't believe it when they heard Misty screaming some more about how she did not have time to do her make-up and hair. Who is that person, and why do they have to be incarcerated with people like her on a daily basis?

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the penthouse, Jude opened his eyes. Everything seemed fuzzy and blurry. He groaned as the lights in his room seemed too bright.

"You're awake." said a voice. Jude turned to see Elesa on his bed.

"What time is it now?" Jude asked.

Elesa checked the clock. "It's almost 7pm now."

"Aren't you going to have dinner?" Jude asked.

"I'm taking care of you. I can't let you out of my sight, can I?" Elesa shrugged.

Jude widened his eyes slightly. "I'm sorry. You can go back now."

"It's no problem, Jude. Everyone gets sick once in a while. I won't go back until you are well. I think Phillip said that there are some allergy pills in here." Elesa rummaged through the first-aid kit provided, and found the bottle she was looking for. She handed him the pills and a glass of water. She raised her brow when she noticed her boyfriend putting away the medicine and glass of water on the bedside table.

"Aren't you going to eat that?" Elesa asked.

"No point. I mean, I ate those pills once before. I choked and it was pretty awful." Jude wrinkled his nose at the flashback.

"That's why it's called medicine," Elesa retorted, and reached for the glass of water and pill.

'Is she going to force it in my mouth or what?' Jude thought, as he watched Elesa pop the pills into her mouth and take a mouthful of water from the glass. To his surprise, Elesa pressed her mouth against his, mouth-feeding him with the medicine. He had no choice but to take the medicine.

'I am surprised she managed to outwit me.' Jude thought, perplexed by the turn of events. After that, it turned into a kiss that is controlled but passionate. After a few minutes, Elesa broke away. "Since when does medicine taste awful?" Elesa teased.

"You shouldn't take sickness so lightly Elesa, it can be contagious." Jude warned her.

Elesa shrugged. "If it's from you, then I don't mind. Then you'll take care of me."

'You got to be kidding, right?' Jude thought. But he was interrupted when there was a knock on the door. Elesa went to answer, and it was revealed to be Phillip, who was carrying a bowl of soup. Phillip silently set the tray on Jude's lap, and handed him a spoon.

"It's French Onion." Phillip commented. Jude nodded, before starting on his soup.

"So, where are the others?" Jude asked.

Phillip shot an uneasy look towards Elesa, but answered the question. "Pakura and Red are currently carrying out the plan we made. I think Rosaline went off somewhere. Maybe she and Siebold went on a second date together, who knows?"

"Well, I know it wouldn't be just one measly date. Rosaline totally likes him." Jude rolled his eyes, but he smiled.

"Yeah, I could tell. I'm taking a break since I did the first part of my role. I'm waiting for the signal to start the second." Phillip nodded.

Jude whistled. "Not bad." He said, finishing his soup.

"Can I get you anything else? I can get one of the attendants to cook something more substantial if you're hungry." Phillip offered. There's any number in the Tower. They cook for them, wait on them, check that everything is running smoothly, and clean up their rooms. Taking care of them is their job.

"I'm not feeling hungry tonight." Jude shook his head. "I should sleep some more, so I have the energy to battle tomorrow."

"Suit yourself." Phillip shrugged, as his CommuniDex beeped. "Well, I'm going to station myself for the second part. See you." With that, he left the room.

"What was that all about? What plan?" Elesa asked.

Jude grimaced. "Let's just say Champion Red is out for revenge, and this is only part of it. I'll show you." He walked up to the TV, and turned on to the live programme where Misty was about to start her performance at the swimming pool. She was wearing a beautiful dark blue mermaid costume dress that can be used for swimming.

"Slowbro, let's use Sunny Day!" Misty called out. "Lapras, use Blizzard, and Starmie, use Thunderbolt!" The three Pokémon (which belonged to Jude) came out of the water and performed the respective moves, causing beautiful rainbow droplets that exploded and rained down towards the three Pokémon and Misty.

'They must have taken some of my Pokémon.' Jude thought, as he recognized them to be his. 'Oh well, I did agree to let them use mine.'

Misty then jumped into the water with Lanturn and Floatzel in a synchronized way and asked the latter to use Sonic Boom while underwater upwards, causing silver discs to fly out. She then asked Lapras to use Ice Beam to freeze them and Slowbro to use Shadow Ball, which exploded in sparkles as she swam in sync with Lanturn at the surface.

Everyone seemed impressed by her water performance, but as Misty dived into the water and asked Starmie to use Thunder on the Hail she had Lapras use, Starmie instead used Thunder on the water. The other Water Pokémon jumped out as Misty got electrocuted. Meanwhile, the others also started chaos by firing random moves that started to destroy the stage and the seats the audience were sitting on. Starmie used Psychic to remove a beam from the ceiling and let it free fall.

"Stop, stop, STOP!" Misty screamed, running around and chasing the Pokémon. "Listen to me, you useless little…." She let out some vulgarities under her breath when Lapras fired a Blizzard at her. Unfortunately, Ash had recorded everything she had said, as in the chaos, no one heard it.

Pakura gasped as one of the air-con was about to fall on her, but someone tackled her to the ground, and destroyed the air-con with his psychic powers.

"You alright, Paku?" Ash asked, practically leaning on her. Her fellow judge, Aria was looking at them with concern written on her face.

"Yeah, thanks." Pakura replied as Ash helped her up, just as Ash's Lucario decided to take matters in its own hands and returned all the Water Pokémon and switching the Pokéballs back with Misty's. Those who hadn't escaped sighed in relief that they were still alive. Most glared at Misty as she couldn't control her Pokémon and destroyed a performance hall.

Meanwhile, Misty was yelling at her poor Pokémon who did not even know what was going on. Some of them were on the verge of tears as Misty shouted nasty words to them.

Just then, the intercom came on, and someone (most likely Phillip with his voice changer) said, "The performance tonight would also give shocking news. I interrupt the show to announce to everyone that Leader Misty is not who she seems. A sweet and optimistic girl with a reputation of being a charming Water Master….or is she?"

Phillip played a recording of Max saying, "If only you knew how mean Misty really is...you'd know that May wasn't allowed to have shoulder-length hair. Two years ago she told my sister that shoulder-length hair was her thing and she wasn't allowed to have it, so my sister May grew them out. Though she looks pretty, May hated it, you know. But she put up with it because Misty is the leader of our clique or some sort."

"How could you be so mean? To inflict your stupid opinions on your own friends!" One woman shouted.

"Yeah, we don't respect people who have problems with other's personality." Another kid, younger than Misty, sneered.

"Shut up!" Misty roared. "What do you know? I look the best with shoulder length hair, so it should be my thing alone."

However, the recording was still playing. "And you know she cheats on Brock? She claimed to be saving herself for him, but she already lost her virginity a long time ago to some stranger she met at a club. She has quite a reputation in Kanto for that. And yeah, every Thursday he thinks she's training to be a better Water Master in the forest but really she's hooking up with a student that was going to be a screenplay writer in Hollywood or something in the Plaza Hotel. I overheard her on the phone, but I never told anybody that."

"Misty, how could you!" Brock shouted. Apparently, her friends came to watch the show.

"Well, you're bad in bed anyway!" Misty sneered. "You don't even know a woman's needs, and you claim to be a ladies' man!"

Shouts and comments of "Whore", "Slut" and "harlot" came pouring in. Not even her friends came to help her, and Misty was forced to leave the hall by herself, but not before she was being pelted with the refreshments provided for the event. Her Pokémon did not follow as they were still hurt by her words.

Jude said nothing, as he admired the wonderful effect of their handiwork. If they just left Misty high and dry just by this, imagine the effect it would have when Phillip interrupted the broadcast for the next matches tonight. Jude decided to turn off the TV at this point. Elesa had her eyes wide open, as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

"What did they do to Champion Red?" Elesa asked, her big blue eyes still on the television. "For him to exact revenge in this way?"

"I'll tell you in time, I promise." Jude said. "It's a really dark secret."

Elesa nodded in understanding, as she tucked Jude in.

* * *

"Don't worry, Pachirisu." Phillip answered to a question she had asked. "We'll get back to the Battle Tower and wait for our cue to break in. I'm done with training in the forest for the day anyway." As they walked through the forest, Phillip saw a familiar figure looking around, looking lost. As soon as the figure saw him, she brightened up.

"Phillip!" Diantha smiled at him.

"Oh great. It's you." Phillip mumbled unenthusiastically.

"Don't be like that." Diantha shook her head, amused.

"What do you want?" Phillip yawned.

"As you can see, I'm a little lost. Can you help me find my way out?" Diantha asked.

"Y-Yeah, sure." Phillip replied to her, looking down at his nails. "I am on my way out anyway. Here, you might need this for your next trip to the, er…forest." Phillip shoved a map to her.

"Don't you need it?" Diantha asked.

"N-No, not r-really." Phillip looked away.

"Well, since we are going the same way, why don't we walk together?" Diantha offered.

"Alright then." Phillip muttered. "S-Shall we go on?" Phillip motioned forward, and the pair continued their walk through the forest. As they walked, Diantha noticed Phillip was flipping through a sketchbook.

"What is that you're holding, Phillip?" Diantha asked.

"It's a device I'm working on for salons." Phillip replied, letting Diantha take a look at the designs. "All you need to do is to select the hair style and colour you want, and the hair dryer like device that contained all sorts of hair equipment would help style your hair and dye it to what you have selected. The best part is that it can also dye part of your hair if you select just which part of your hair you want coloured, something like highlights."

Diantha seemed really interested. "Wow, you thought up of the idea yourself?" she asked, admiring the designs Phillip had made.

"Yep." Phillip nodded. "My talent was to invent things after all."

'Phillip is really a cool person.' Diantha thought. 'He's so awkward it's pretty cute in a way. And the designs are really amazing.'

"So, what made you want to be part of the PAL Pokémon League?" Diantha asked.

Phillip stayed silent, and Diantha wondered if she struck a nerve. He finally said, "I did think of taking on the other Pokémon Leagues and become a Pokémon Master once, but it got boring, that's all." He said it in a tone that indicated that Diantha should not pry anymore.

"Oh, I see." Diantha nodded. "I wanted to become the Champion so I can guide the people of Kalos and be a symbol of inspiration. That even the most ordinary people can become a star."

"That's nice." Phillip replied without looking at her. 'Why is she telling me this?' He thought. As they continued to walk, they eventually exited the forest.

"Well, this is it." Phillip said to Diantha.

"Yeah, I guess" Diantha replied, cursing the fact that they were already out of the forest. "Hey wait." She said to Phillip who was already leaving.

"What?" Phillip sounded a little irate, though his face showed nothing.

"Do you want to get together for coffee or something after the matches tomorrow?" Diantha asked. "I do want to get to know you as a friend."

'Since when were we friends?' Phillip thought.

" **Come on, don't reject her, you'll make her cry. She looks fragile."** Pachirisu nudged him. Phillip shot her a glare, before turning back to Diantha with a blank look.

"Yeah, okay. That might be fun." Phillip replied nonchalantly.

"Alright, why don't we meet at Coffee Cave after our matches?" Diantha suggested.

"Fine, see you then." Phillip began to walk away, but not before he heard Diantha shout, "Remember to bring that sketchbook of yours. I'd love to hear more about your ideas."

* * *

Cynthia watched Misty's performance live via the television with her fellow Elites, and gasped when the Pokémon started going on a rampage. There was a camera cut to where the beam was about to fall on Pakura, but Ash had saved her…which ended up getting them in a somewhat compromising position.

She could feel the dinner she had ate with her fellow Elites almost coming up to her throat. That made no sense, as she and Red are not a couple, and he has the right to choose who he should be with…right?

Bertha saw the scene as well, and leaned over to whisper, "Don't worry, dear. I'm sure they are just friends and they work together. After all, they are in the same regional Pokémon League. Don't worry so much about it."

"Boy, she's such a whore." Aaron sighed, listening to the broadcast. "I wouldn't cheat, but she sounded like she can't just close her legs!"

"Aaron!" Flint gave him a scandalized look, but Aaron shrugged.

"What? That's no way for a Gym Leader to behave." Aaron pointed out.

"Well, Aaron's right." Lucian closed his book. "This will definitely bring down her reputation. Looks like Kanto has a lot to answer for, like what were they thinking getting someone with no morals whatsoever and who can't behave properly outside of the Pokémon League as a Gym Leader?"

"Not to mention, her sisters are famous performers who do water ballet shows in their Gym which made the Cerulean Gym even more popular. But it looks like after this failed water performance and her scandals revealed, no one would want to visit their Gym, not even for the water ballet shows." Flint added.

Cynthia sat there, looking thoughtful as everyone pelted Misty with refreshments as she ran out of the performance hall. It was clear that Misty had been sabotaged, but who would have a motive to do so? Misty didn't really have any enemies out for her blood. In fact, she lived the good life, with fun friends, a boyfriend who loved her, and a fairly large fanbase due to the fact that she had joined her sisters for water performances and it didn't hurt that she was quite pretty with her hair grown out to her shoulders. And just like that, she lost everything, and to make things worse, it was broadcasted in Interregional Television Network.

Cynthia decided to take a walk to clear things in her head. As she took a walk around Luonto City, she wondered, 'Should I help her? After all, she didn't choose for this to happen to her. Somebody else must be behind this.' Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a familiar figure with a Pikachu and Lucario.

"Red!" She called out. Ash looked up to see Cynthia smiling and waving at him.

"Oh, hey Cynthia." Ash greeted her. In reality, he was a very slightly unenthused about seeing her as he was about to go and train his Pokémon for tomorrow's match.

"What a nice coincidence. What are you doing here?" Cynthia asked, as she went up to him.

"I was about to go train my Pokémon." Ash replied. Actually, he borrowed Pakura's portable television to be able to watch the broadcast in private, but Cynthia didn't need to know that.

"Cool." Cynthia nodded. "So, are you hungry?"

"No, not really." Ash shook his head. "I just had dinner."

"Oh…" Cynthia looked disappointed. "I hadn't. Have you seen Misty's live performance?"

"I did." Ash replied. "Why?"

"Don't you think it was cruel of someone to do this to her?" Cynthia asked, not noticing the dark flash in Ash's eyes. "Why don't we find out who is behind this? Plus, we could hang out while we figure this out, and help Misty repair her reputation. It'll be fun." Cynthia gave him a beatific smile, and Ash's heart sped up at the sight.

'Of course she would side Misty over this. After all she's friends with her.' Ash thought. 'Oh well, I can't blame her though.' However, he said to Cynthia, "It's not going to be that fun when we start going at each other for our differing views. After all, you and I have different opinions on the broadcast."

"Whatever it is, both of us are Champions, we have the authority. Together, we can bring whoever is behind this to justice, so I'll try not to go at you. And do this for me, please?" Cynthia smiled. "Anyway, I was hoping maybe we could…"

Just then, a beep was heard from Ash's pocket.

Ash, knowing what that meant, said, "Excuse me for a moment." With that, he started to leave, but Cynthia wasn't having any of it.

"Wait, Red!" Cynthia followed him. "We're friends, you can say it to me, right?"

'If I show her the broadcast, it would mean that I'm pushing Cynthia, the love of my life, away. But if I don't show her, she'd think I'm keeping secrets, and may stay away from me. What do I do?' Ash thought.

" **Just show it to her. That way, she can't blame you if she didn't like what she saw…or heard."** Lucario suggested.

Ash shrugged, and let Cynthia stand next to him as he turned in to the announcer stating that she is about to show the match-ups for tomorrow.

"Oh, you're just going to take a look at this?" Cynthia asked, and Ash nodded.

Cynthia smiled. "There is nothing to be ashamed of if your opponent is an ordinary trainer. Oh, I'm up against Phoebe."

Ash saw enough to see that he was going to battle Lorelei and Pakura was going to fight Drasna, when without warning, Max was suddenly on television.

'He did it.' Ash thought. 'Phillip broke in.'

"And then, this one time, Cilan actually gave a girl roofies at a party and had sex with her while she was unconscious, then forced her to have an abortion when she discovered she was pregnant from it." Max shrugged. "He was dating Iris at that time, so I assume that is cheating."

Cynthia gasped, as secret after secret was exposed. It turned out May drunkenly crashed Dawn's mother's car, May was the one who spread the rumour about Dawn having an eating disorder, Dawn hacked Cilan's bank account and stole three thousand Pokédollars to pay for her plastic surgery and makeover, Max had kissed Dawn behind Kenny's back. The worst part was Dawn was cheating on Kenny and was relying on the generosity of her numerous "sugar daddies" to supplement her income.

Meanwhile Ash watched in glee, though his expression showed nothing, as Pakura drummed it into him that people can exploit them if they know how he was feeling at the moment, and advised him to only show the emotions he wanted to show, and not to wear his heart on his sleeve all the time like a certain foolish Fire/Psychic Elite specialist.

"I got to help them…" Cynthia whispered.

"No use, Cynthia." Ash said flatly. "It's like when Ash allegedly killed his own mother and tried to kill his friends. It's too late, everyone knows."

"But the difference is, he really did it. They didn't do any of those things. They're close friends with each other and with their Pokémon. I can feel it." Cynthia cried.

'And I'm not close friends with my Pokémon?' Ash thought. 'Why would I turn on my own friends? What motive do I have?'

"I think you said enough, Cynthia." A cold voice said.

Cynthia whipped her head to see Pakura standing between her and Ash.

"If you are blind to the truth, then Champion Red and I have nothing more to say to you." Pakura went on. "Isn't that right, Red?"

Ash said nothing, but took a few steps back. Cynthia's heart broke at every step back Ash took. She decided to turn on Pakura.

"What do you know? You didn't see what I saw." Cynthia glared at her.

"What you see does not mean it happened that way." Pakura retorted.

"I... uh..." Cynthia started, not being able to find a comeback to that.

"Paku, let's just go." Ash decided to end the argument there, and left towards the Battle Tower. Pakura shot one last glare at Cynthia, before she followed suit.

* * *

"I don't get it!" Ash started to rant once they were back on their floor. "Why can't Cynthia open her eyes to the truth?"

"Some people can't accept that they were wrong. They choose to stick to their views, which leads to their downfall." Pakura replied, smoothing her skirt down. Lucario and Pikachu nodded in agreement while Sylveon just flicked her tail in annoyance. Skitty was on the floor clutching to her tail.

"Do you want anything? Something to calm you down, perhaps?" Pakura offered.

"No, thanks." Ash replied. "I mean, yes. I could do with a snack."

"Well then shall I make some brown sugar oatmeal?" Pakura suggested.

"Great, I love that dish!" Ash nodded.

"Alright, I'll go to the kitchen to make it. You can sit here in the living room while I make the oatmeal."

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Ash asked.

"Don't worry, I got it." Pakura replied, winking at Ash. Ash blushed when he realized her outfit consisted of a black short skirt and a navy blue top that accentuated her hourglass figure as usual. She then went into the kitchen and began to start making the snack for Ash.

'She's a real temptation…' Ash smiled as he shook his head. He was somewhat frustrated at Cynthia's inability to see the truth, as he grabbed a random bottle and downed it before the Pokémon could stop him, as it was a bottle of wine (Ash can't hold his liquor at all). Ash suddenly felt the need to vent his frustration. With that thought, he went to the kitchen, where Pakura was mixing the pot.

"What do you want?" Pakura asked without looking up. She tuned off the stove, and cleaned the counter. Ash noted that the apron she wore went below her skirt.

"Uh...a snack?" Ash mumbled.

"Seriously, Ash, but fine, I have some leftover brownies I made, or you can get a bar of chocolate or a pack of chips in the fridge. Don't eat too much, though. And wash up before snack." Pakura ran a hand through her hair.

"Well, brownies have chocolate, and chocolate is a little bad anyway. I do prefer strawberry so chips it is." Ash decided.

"Whatever just hurry up." Pakura muttered.

"I'm not that fast." Ash replied.

"What?" Pakura was puzzled at Ash's words, only to yelp as she was grabbed and bent over the kitchen counter.

"I actually have a lot of stamina so I'll take a while." Ash commented.

"But I'm not done making those snacks!" Pakura protested, and Ash shrugged nonchalantly. "And I thought you said you loved Cynthia." Pakura groaned. "I don't look like her, you know."

"Of course you don't. I think she wishes she looked like you." Ash chuckled. "Now don't need to talk. Just moan and enjoy and then you can finish making those snacks later."

'Couldn't he just have vented it in the gym or something?' Pakura thought. Obviously she wanted him in that way once, but Ash is clearly frustrated and needed to vent. "You know you shouldn't just throw your virginity like that. Your first time should be with someone you love." Pakura told Ash.

"I think you underestimate your worth." Ash shook his head, and shrugged. "I've made my decision and I don't hear complaining or anything."

'Oh well, I'll just play along, since it's not like I'm a virgin anymore.' Pakura thought, as Ash lifted her skirt.

* * *

Pakura sighed, as she tucked Ash in, who fell asleep after consuming the snack she made. She winced at the pain at her lower half, and concentrated her Regenerative Healing Factor there.

'Are you sure it's the time to be chilling?' Giratina's voice was in her head.

'Everything is proceeding smoothly. Your concern is unnecessary.' Pakura retorted, as she popped some antidepressants and downed it with wine. 'It's not as if he would remember. He usually doesn't remember anything from when he is drunk.'

" _You could have fought him off, but you didn't."_ Shiki said, a hint of disapproval in his voice that made Pakura flinch. _"You are going to harm yourself, you know? And your body, if you continue drinking and eating antidepressants at the same time."_

"Well, I don't care anymore, I did all these for you, and is this all the thanks I get? You weren't even there for me!" Pakura spat at her fiancé, then realizing what she said, wished she could take her words back as Shiki looked lost and sad. She wanted nothing more than to give him a passionate kiss on the lips, but they've come so far now, not touching, that Pakura felt that she mustn't break the silent wall.

She came this far with a risk to lose her positions, her prestige. But how long before the deception is uncovered? After all, the truth can run but it can't hide.

Shiki raised a hand as if grab Pakura's wrist, as if to ask her to wait, but then dropped it again. Pakura watched Shiki, wearing the Dragon Prince outfit from their Dragon Duo days, out of the corner of her eye from her position in front of the door, when he reached out, places his hands on either side of her face. She widened her eyes. What is he..?

Shiki gave her a chaste kiss on the lips, making Pakura sigh in contentment. It was paradise she never felt with anyone else, and she believed she won't feel it with anyone else. They were partners for life. She wrapped her arms around him and said, "Stay with me."

Shiki nodded. _"Always."_

Pakura suddenly felt the liquor come up. She barely made it to the toilet before the liquor came up again. By the time she vomited the liquor she consumed all out, she felt miserable- utterly miserable. By the time she got back to Ash's bedroom, Shiki was gone.

Pakura silently laughed in an insane way, as she covered her face. She removed her hands from her face to reveal scarlet eyes.

'I'll be sure to make all of them feel the same suffering.' Pakura thought, leaving Ash's room. 'And they shall realize the power of the Dragon Duo.'

Unknown to her, when she left, Ash opened his eyes.

'Was it just me, or was Paku's eyes really red in colour?' Ash wondered. He gasped, as he remembered that the Dragon Princess was the user of Scarlet Anger.

'Could Paku be the Dragon Princess?' Ash was shocked at the revelation.

* * *

 **BP: Ok, what the hell did I just write? I was going with the flow and this happened. But next chapter is the Top 32, and after Top 32, this is where the mysteries arc would end, so I can safely say the mysteries are ending soon. That's probably why I wrote the Ash x Pakura scene near the end, though maybe you guys won't like it. Sorry, but my writer's block must have gotten to me, and I really have no idea what I'm writing.**

 **On another note, for the Ashura Kurobane fic, his (adopted) mother is Amethyst Paradinight (aka Pakura Ameyuri in the PAL series), so for those who want her as his travelling companion (and RoyalShipping to an extent), I really have no idea how am I supposed to go about doing that when they are one and the same.**

 **But, I have an offer for you readers: Amethyst Paradinight and Pakura Ameyuri, while they have similar yet different pasts and somewhat resembled each other, they would be two completely different people. Do you accept the offer?**

 **A: Yes! I accept. I want her as Ash's only travelling companion, and RoyalShipping forever!**

 **B: No, Ash should just travel alone. And RoyalShipping is too overrated.**

 **Think carefully on the offer before you decide.**

 **I would have to push back the Resurrection fic, as Rosaline was inside, and it always reminded me of the fact that it isn't my OC, it belonged to mysterypink98, and I just couldn't write it, you know, so fear not, it will still be written, but I will have to publish it much later.**

 **Since I promised to write it alongside the Ashura Kurobane series and the Heartsong Symphony, I decided to replace the fic with another Pokémon fanfic where the PAL Region had to host the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom Tournament.**

 **I got this inspiration when I saw the trailer of Phoenix Wright, one of my favourite characters in Ace Attorney as a fighter in the game, and thought "Hey, why not have a normal lawyer to save the world, with Ash as his mentor as he had did it before?" And since there are so many characters to write about with different abilities and personalities, I thought it would be fun to write.**

 **But of course, since it's a Pokémon fanfic, I'd probably add a story for them as well, probably having just replaced an Elite member and also the reluctance since they had just finished hosting the Pokémon World Championships and the Battle Olympia, a biennial fighting tournament held in the PAL Region, which would be elaborated upon in the story.**

 **I am going to make Phoenix Wright (I love him as a fighter, especially his Turnabout Mode) as the main three-man team alongside another two.**

 **Since I cannot decide on Phoenix Wright's teammates, I leave the choice of who his teammates should be up to you readers (preferably one from Capcom and one from Marvel). Please put them in the reviews.**

 **From next chapter onwards, Core AI will be Beta Reading my chapters, so do look forward to that as well!**

 **Do remember to review, favourite and follow. Check out the first chapter of Pokémon: Heartsong Symphony, which is posted today.**

 **Most important of all, don't forget to put in suggestions and vote for the questions above so I can have ideas and continue writing!**

 **And do remember to tell me who you want in the team with Phoenix Wright!**


	12. Fall of the trio, The Rogue Princess

**BP: Yup, my internship is taking up all my holidays, so once my internship is over, it's actually back to school for me. I seriously hate the fact that I have to do assignments during holidays, it's a time for us to relax and get ready for the new semester.**

 **But no, they just had to tire us even further by springing this compulsory internship on us. So yeah that is why I haven't been updating in a long time. You can thank my school for making me do the internship and all the tasks and assignments that entails.**

 **So far for the fanfic where the region would hold the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament, I have Deadpool as a favourite to be teamed with Phoenix Wright (this team would be led by Ash), but I haven't had anyone from Capcom. If anyone knows any Capcom character that would lead to funny antics among the team or be the serious one to even out the two members, let me know.**

 **Well, this chapter has been Beta Read by Core AI. I have replaced the original file.**

'I am sure by now, Ash is beginning to suspect me.' Pakura thought, as she sat on the desk filled with books and notes that she had sorted according to subject. 'I need to find a way to throw suspicion off myself, so that I can set my plans into motion. There is no way I would let Ash stop me.'

Pakura proceeded to open the books on her desk and began reading up on a way to be able to kill two bird with one stone. In other words, a plan to throw Ash off and ruin Rosaline at the same time. She got to the section on spiritual powers, and began reading up on them, knowing that users of Scarlet Anger would have immense spiritual power granted by Giratina itself, as it is a Ghost/Dragon type. The question is what did the people of Scarlet Anger usually do with their spiritual powers and how could it help with her plans?

She read about the spirit channelling technique, recognizing it as one of the abilities Pakura Goldstein was able to do perfectly.

'Spirit channelling, huh?' Pakura thought. As far as she knew, spirit channelling was famously practiced by spirit mediums from the Ariolo Village in their region.

Other than those spirit mediums living in that village, the members of the Fey Clan in Kurain Village located in Los Angeles use a spirit channelling technique called the Kurain Channelling Technique, though their channelling techniques are considered different from the contrasting results they yielded. Also, the Fey Clan's technique was based on the one from the Kingdom of Khura'in.

Pakura had been to the Kingdom of Khura'in to discuss trade deals with the Queen of the Kingdom, Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in. Suffice to say, she was appalled at how they had the Defense Culpability Act and how unfair the trial was decided just by some little girl's Divination Séance, where they could see the dead's last moments and the girl giving insight as to what she thought happened.

As far as she knew, the Divination Séance are limited by the perspective of the deceased and the extremely limited scope of time the Séance captures, something the girl must not be aware of and probably thought her Insights are always right. At least when Pakura Goldstein performed it during court sessions (those she was not prosecuting anyway), she allowed both the Defense and Prosecution to debate over it as the vision can be interpreted in more than one way.

In Khura'in? Not so much. They accepted a girl's words as the absolute truth! The Defense Culpability Act was also an insult to her as in her region, Defense Attorneys are just as respected, if not more, than the Prosecutors. Furthermore, the Dragon Duo were Defense Attorneys!

Needless to say, she had decided to cut the trade between the two kingdoms (if she could call her region one), and told Queen Ga'ran in her face that her Defense Culpability Act would be her downfall and until her kingdom opened their eyes and stop shunning Defense Attorneys and casting hateful scorn upon them, she would not do business with Khura'in.

Besides, she is tired of the arrogance of the Khura'inese who think the power of Spirit Channelling is exclusive to their country. She knew of people who can not only channel spirits perfectly, but also use their spiritual powers for other purposes, such as in combat.

In reality, Pakura thought she should not go near them until they change the Queen because she sensed no spiritual power within her, and she knew that from what she read, only those with spiritual powers can be the Queen of Khura'in, making her wonder how Ga'ran got the throne in the first place.

As Pakura turned the page on how Pakura Goldstein's spirit channelling works, she gasped as she realized Pakura Goldstein's body would transform into a likeness of the person she channelled. Not only does this change extends to her voice and physical appearance, it also changed her hair and her clothes to the ones the deceased was wearing at the time of their death. From this point, the channelled spirit would take control of the body, but her subconscious is still there. She can make use of her subconscious to control the channelled spirit if needed and can force the spirit from her body at will.

'Don't you know?' Giratina's voice was in her head. 'The spiritual power I grant allows this powerful channelling to be possible.'

"How do I know you're not lying?" Pakura glared at the Cherish Ball she had hidden in her pocket, thanks to Giratina's influence.

'Why would I lie to my own Chosen?' Giratina chuckled. 'After all, I need you to carry my will, it'd be a shame to see you fall.' As Pakura did not detect any dissonance, she knew Giratina was telling the truth.

Pakura was in deep thought. 'If what Giratina says is true, I can make use of this plan to channel someone using my spiritual power granted by Scarlet Anger. And if I can control the spirit, I can make him or her do something to discredit Rosaline through Siebold, but how? How do I break her and make her feel the pain?'

She gasped, as a perfect plan fell into place, and grinned. 'Let's set the plan into motion.'

Pakura concentrated her spiritual power for the first time, and a few moments later, an extremely handsome boy in his early twenties stood in her place. He had messy black hair and purple eyes, and was wearing his Dragon Prince outfit.

"Looks like Paku-chan needs my help." Shiki ran a hand through his hair. "While it may ruin my former region, my number one priority is still my beloved Paku. Because I want to see her smile."

With that, he left towards Rosaline's room to take action.

* * *

'She can't be the Paradinight daughter.' Ash thought, as he sat on his bed. 'The Dragon Princess was given away as a toddler 21 years ago, which means she must be above 21 at the very least. But I know for one Paku had her 21st birthday in August, and it would not match up chronological wise, even if she was given away the moment she was born.'

Ash rubbed his throbbing head, hoping to ease it, to no avail. 'Oh well, no use thinking of it, I would be better off getting some sleep. After all, I still have to battle tomorrow.' With that thought, he settled back on his pillows, and somehow drifted to dreamland.

 _Pakura and Rosaline were in the living room, where Rosaline was prattling on about a great deal she had gotten on a set of pink highlight dye she had gotten for her hair and a rosy ball gown that she was planning to wear at her upcoming press conference which was going to be her first one._

 _Pakura, who was reading a magazine, mostly ignored her, though Ash could tell she was distinctly irritated._

 _"Couldn't you not ignore me for once? I'm an Elite member now, so I'm an equal. Show some…" She trailed off, before she slumped over the couch._

 _Pakura sighed, but went over to support Rosaline's head, and raised a brow when Rosaline's eyes looked dull, which meant she was in a trance._

 _Rosaline unconsciously opened her mouth and said, "The Cursed Child lies alone and friendless, hatred boiling in her heart each day. The great yet terrible power eventually consumed her feelings, and the extremely terrible backlash looms over the other members' heads, as only doom awaits them."_

 _Pakura and Sylveon looked at each other, as Rosaline went on, "The Fiery Phoenix may not rise again after breaking the rule given to them after the last thirty-two standing battle for their place, causing her to never be the same again. Her obstacles would be taken out one by one, and the Chosen One will chase her down on his own as her final obstacle, and confront the holder of the Devil's Eyes. The Lord of the Distortion World will force her to protect her secrets and carry its will, and she would put her life on the line until the end. The Prince would give the answers, but a heavy price would be paid. A challenge would be issued to the Chosen One by the Prince of Everyone's Hearts to see if the Child lives or dies."_

 _The tone she said the prophecy was a serious tone, which was a complete contrast to the cheerful (irritating to Pakura) tone she usually had._

 _"A prophecy." Pakura whispered. As Rosaline shook her head, apparently trying to shake out of her trance, Pakura hit her hard on the head with a baseball bat, which knocked her unconscious and caused blood to come out of her head._

" _ **You'll kill her."**_ _Sylveon frowned._

 _Pakura checked Rosaline's head, before saying, "She'll be fine. She brags too much about her Elite position as if she deserved it. Why not see if her endurance can back up her claim?" She shrugged, before her face reverted to a thoughtful expression._

 _ **"It looks the Chosen One the prophecy is referring to is Ash."**_ _Sylveon muttered._

 _"Indeed." Pakura replied. "It looks like Ash is going to win the Elite challenge, thus becoming Champion. If not, how else would he be able to attend the Pokémon World Championship, seeing he is branded as a criminal on the run? There is no way I'll let them find out about my secrets. I don't need idiots meddling with my life." With that, she stood up, and made her way towards her room, her Sylveon following her._

 _"I would do absolutely anything to keep my secret. Not even my personal feelings towards Ash would stop it." Pakura said with conviction._

Ash sat up on the bed, panting. He knew the dream was trying to tell him something. He frowned as he recited the prophecy Rosaline had made.

Somehow, he knew tomorrow would bring the answers he sought, but something told him that the answers would somehow ruin them instead of giving them a sense of triumph that one would get when competing a mission successfully.

Just then, he sniffed the air, and to his horror, he recognized the smell as smoke from the fire. The same fire that the traitors set for his mother all those years ago. He grabbed a coat and ran out of his room as a smoke alarm sounded. He met the other members (sans Rosaline) at the living room.

"It's coming from the Kalos Elites' floor!" Jude shouted.

"We better take the stairs. The elevator is too dangerous." Phillip added. "Where's Rosaline?" He directed this statement to Pakura.

"Not in her room." Pakura rolled her eyes. "We can leave without her, she won't burn anyway, since she's immune." Everyone nodded, as they rushed down the stairs to the Kalos Elites' floor.

To their surprise, one of the rooms were burning, and Rosaline was standing there with a fireball in her hand. At her feet was a critically injured Siebold, and the other Kalos Elite members, along with Champion Diantha, were confined by a ring of fire. It seemed that Rosaline had taken their Pokéballs, hence why they did not use their Pokémon to help them.

'Even if they did, it is unlikely they would be able to extinguish her fire.' Ash thought. 'After all, her fire is still more powerful than an ordinary one.'

Jude extinguished the fire with the help of his Water Pokémon, while Pakura knocked Rosaline out to prevent her from stopping Jude.

"What happened?" Jude asked, as out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ash send out Mewtwo to teleport Siebold to the hospital.

"We're not sure." Drasna replied. "We heard Siebold asking Rosaline what was wrong, but he made a sound like he was being hit. He shouted for Rosaline to stop, but she wouldn't, and that was when we knew we had to help."

"When we came out, we saw Siebold's room was on fire." Malva added. "We tried to stop her, but she took our Pokéballs with her telekinesis and surrounded us with fire."

"Yeah, we had to watch as Rosaline beat Siebold up and we couldn't do anything!" Diantha was distressed. "Why would she do this to us? What have we done to her?"

"Beats me." Wikstrom replied. "I knew the girl was trouble. I tried to tell Siebold, but he won't listen!"

"Did you see anyone else?" Ash asked. "Like the silhouette of a girl, anything?"

'He suspects me, huh?' Pakura thought, just as a groan was heard and Rosaline stirred.

"Oh, hey…" Rosaline started, only for her to be slapped by Pakura. Rosaline fell of the couch, holding her cheek.

"Is Siebold not handsome enough for you that you have to try and kill him so that you can get someone better? Is your love life not satisfied?" Pakura hissed. "It's bad enough you go around flaunting your power over the region and your Elite status like you deserved it, did you have to kill off someone you think it's not good enough for you?"

"It's none of your business what I do!" Rosaline snapped, glaring at her. "So what if I did? You're not good enough to tell me off either. You're so self-centred and childish, and always wanting your way! In fact, you should change for the better and don't lecture me until you do so. It's for your own good!"

As soon as she said the last syllable, everyone turned to her, horrified at her words.

"How could you say that to your own Leader?" Malva glared at her.

"At least she got in the Elite Four at her first try and knew about the Hunter rule. You on the other hand, if it wasn't for her, you wouldn't even be able to fake being a Hunter before becoming an Elite of this region." Wikstrom added.

'Mind Control would cause her to not have any memories of being controlled, and by her words, she was aware of her actions.' Ash thought. 'Could I be wrong? Was what I saw a trick of the light?' As his last memory before he went to bed was grabbing a random bottle to drink, he knew he must have been drunk. He made a mental note to ask Pakura what happened while he was drunk.

'I can see the doubts on me dissipating from his emotions. Good, that would buy me more time.' Pakura thought, pretending to be thinking of a comeback from Rosaline's harsh words. She was thrilled at the fact that her scheme was working.

"That's enough, Rosaline!" Phillip shouted, clearly tired of her attitude.

"I think you better apologize to her." Jude suggested, looking at Pakura nervously.

"No, it is quite alright." Pakura said calmly. "She need not apologize."

"What?" The Kalos Elite members were shocked.

Pakura looked up, her expression unreadable. "She is still a child after all. We need to forgive her outburst."

"I'm not a child!" Rosaline protested. "I'm older than you!"

"Rosaline, her position is still much higher than yours." Ash warned in a tone that clearly told Rosaline not to talk back anymore. "Be grateful she chose to forgive you despite your insolence."

"Oh yeah? If she is so much better than me, why did the Dragon Prince choose to come and see me and not her?" Rosaline shot back, before covering her mouth as she realized what she had just said, but it was too late.

"What?" Ash whispered, as the other PAL Elite members looked at one another.

'What are they talking about?' The Kalos Elite members and Diantha thought in unison.

Phillip yawned, which was not unnoticed by Pakura.

"I think we should get back to our quarters and talk about this issue after the Top 32." Pakura interrupted. "After all, we have a long day ahead of us."

Jude turned to the Kalos Elite members and Diantha, as Ash got hold of Rosaline with telekinesis. "I am very sorry about our Elite member. Please forgive us for tonight's events."

"No, it's fine." Diantha shook her head. "After all, you guys were not aware she would do this either."

"We shall see that she be disciplined for it." Pakura curtseyed to the Kalos Elite members and Diantha.

"Goodnight, and good luck for your matches." Ash nodded, as he began dragging Rosaline towards the elevators.

The Kalos Elite members and Diantha bade them goodnight as well, though they were left with a question: Did they know something about the Dragon Duo than they are letting the public on?

As Phillip walked past Diantha, she turned and said, "Remember the coffee tomorrow!"

'Oh great. I was hoping she forgot.' Phillip thought, as he stepped into the elevator with his Elites.

* * *

"Jude, Phillip, take Rosaline back to her room. I can't stand to look at her." Ash ordered. Jude and Phillip nodded, and took an unconscious Rosaline to her room, getting in using the key in her pocket, before going back to their rooms.

Pakura walked Ash to the couch, but before he could sit, Pakura wrapped his arms around him and rested her head against his chest. "You could use a hug right now." Pakura commented.

Ash sighed, but said nothing as his hands slid up her back and he rested his cheek against her hair. "I still think that the incident should be kept quiet." Pakura went on. "Give the girl another chance."

"Why?" Ash was puzzled. "After all she said to you, why would you still side her?"

"I wanted to use her as an example. That you don't really need to go through tragedy to cope with being an Elite Four." Pakura shrugged. "Problem is she lacks empathy and is rather preoccupied with her own social life."

"I'm not saying she is not talented." Ash shook his head. "But if I'm perfectly honest about it…"

"If you're perfectly honest about it, you think I shouldn't have let Rosaline in, and she never deserved the spot in the first place." Pakura finished.

"It crossed my mind. Repeatedly." Ash admitted.

"Maybe Rosaline isn't herself just now. She's just stressed on trying to prove herself. She just needs patience and understanding." Pakura suggested.

"Only you, Paku." Ash shook his head. "Only you can justify her actions in my eyes."

"Maybe because I used to be like her once too." Pakura admitted.

Ash frowned at her. "Really?" His head hurt trying to imagine Pakura act like Rosaline when she was younger, as it felt so wrong. He sat down, still holding his best friend.

Pakura shrugged, as she asked, "So, what dream did you have tonight?"

"Rosaline made a prophecy before I joined up apparently." Ash answered, as he recited the prophecy word for word. When he was done, Pakura had a thoughtful look on her face.

"It looks like you would figure out everything at the very least, huh?" Pakura sounded somewhat excited. "Isn't it great, Ash?"

"Yeah…" Ash sounded unsure.

"Why don't you sound happy?" Pakura frowned.

"Well, for one I have a feeling it would be a pyrrhic victory." Ash sighed. Over the years, he had also gained an extensive vocabulary, and also learning a few other languages as well. It helped him communicate and connect with more people, some of which had connections that Ash figured would help him in the future.

"Remember what I said, Ash?" Pakura gave him a look, as she placed a hand on his cheek. "No one should stand in your way of justice. If you have to kill the person, even if he or she is a friend, you do so. You don't think. It would get you killed if you have even a split second hesitation."

"You're right…" Ash nodded resignedly. "But you know, I don't want to lose anyone. Not after I lost my friends, my mother…" He trailed off.

"Just do what you think it's best for you." Pakura answered. "You're the leader of the region, not even I can sway your decision. Besides, I won't be here to hold your hand all the time."

Ash nodded against her hair, before pushing her slightly to look her in the eyes. "There is something I want to ask you." He said seriously.

"What is it?" Pakura raised her brow.

"What happened when I got drunk?" Ash enquired. "I know you were in proximity when I drank that bottle."

"You fell asleep, so I decided to let you rest before waking you up to eat the snack I prepared." Pakura replied.

While it was true he did fall asleep, that was only half the story. 'It's best you don't know, Ash.' Pakura thought. 'Let me go, and forget about me.' She was already resigned to the fact that she only had a little over a year left to live. Perhaps she should go to Los Angeles and get a taste of what life would be like as a full-time Defense Attorney after the tournament.

The ghost of Ash's best friend rebelled, wanting her to confess that she loved him, but the Scarlet Anger had taken everything away. Her feelings for Ash, her care for her friends, fuelling her hate and anger she had kept to the back of her head.

But no more. Rosaline shall realize her mistakes the hard way, feel the pain she had been through. Ash would have to find someone else to guide him, perhaps either Jude or Phillip.

"Are you sure?" Ash gave her a sceptical look. "I am sure more than that happened, I mean I saw your Sylveon and Skitty giving me that look earlier as if to ask me if I'm taking responsibility for what I've done."

"Ignore them." Pakura said dismissively. "They got it in their heads that you and I would end up together somehow. But you're in love with Cynthia, there is no way you'd stray from her."

Ash laughed. "I guess…." Deep inside, however, he was unsure. After all, being with him would be a huge responsibility, especially with the title of Rota Crown Prince, as whoever married him would become the Rota Crown Princess.

While he still wished to marry for love, he wondered if whoever he picked would love him enough to be willing to take up the responsibility and if she would be good enough in the eyes of the people.

As if she read his mind, Pakura said, "I think you better not worry about the future. After all, you still have to battle in the Top 32, and the mysteries of the region would be solved by tomorrow. Save your energy for that, and we can worry about your love life later."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He stifled a yawn. "Goodnight, Paku."

"Night, Ash." With that, Ash went back to his room.

'I was right. With the ability to convert people into Agents of Giratina, I can now control Rosaline however I want without using Mind Control and without Ash suspecting. The best part is Rosaline remembers everything she has done, so she would look really bad in front of the public for one, and even if I deactivated the ability, the guilt would come crushing down and she'll break. Either way, it'll destroy her and her so-called perfect life she never deserved.' Pakura had a smirk on her face.

'Well done, my Chosen.' Giratina complimented through telepathy. 'You used the Scarlet Anger ability very well. You are quite a remarkable user. You will serve me well forever.'

'Your exploitation of the human species is astounding, Giratina.' Pakura replied with telepathy. 'Tell me, what is your purpose of bestowing this so-called 'gift' to humans? It's not even meant for them to use.'

'You are right. It is originally called the Devil's Eyes. I was created by demons thousands of years ago, and I was tasked with giving the power to a worthy demon, along with abilities of my own. Once done, that demon theoretically becomes the ruler of the Demon World, as it would grant them demonic god-like powers.'

'Demons exist?' Pakura scoffed.

'Yes they do, as the first Princess Pakura Goldstein can readily testify to that.' Giratina smirked. 'After all, she had a run-in with demons before while hiding the Maga Chest. She actually fought with a demon-human hybrid who somehow found out about the Maga Chest and wanted information on where to find it. You should know who that demon-human hybrid is. After all, didn't you have a run-in with him when you were a cute little child?'

Pakura remembered. It must have been the time where her Accidental Magic got Shiki and herself into yet another dimension at a different time. She couldn't remember the details as her Scarlet Anger had also distorted and ate her memories.

'Anyway, I got tired of them using my powers for their own gain, and after Arceus took me in as a Pokémon, I decided to give it to humans for a chance to eradicate them instead. Of course, you humans are easier to exploit than those demons or demon hybrids. Easily malleable, yet with such strong willpower….it was perfect.' Giratina laughed.

'Whatever, Giratina.' Pakura spat. 'I'm going to bed.'

" _Giratina is such a creep!"_ Shiki followed her as she unlocked her door to her bedroom.

"I know." Pakura nodded, as she entered her room. "Shiki, close the door, won't you?"

Shiki nodded, and proceeded to close the door, just as the door across from hers opened and Ash came out for a drink. He heard Pakura say, "Close the door won't you?" and the door closing.

What frightened Ash was that there was no one there closing the door.

" _You've done a lot today, Paku. Take a rest and hopefully things will feel more worthwhile when you wake up. I'll be here for you either way."_ Shiki suggested. Pakura nodded, as she laid on her bed, and Shiki placed a small beautiful vase filled with fake pink and white roses (Pakura hates real flowers as they die easily) on her bedside. Pakura gave a small smile at the thoughtful gesture.

" _I love you."_ Shiki whispered, running a hand through her hair.

"I….I love you too, Shiki." Pakura mumbled.

Pakura felt terrible about not spending time with Shiki lately. Also, she should not go have sex with other people behind his back either. She could see the disappointment in his eyes when he found out, and yet he still loved her. Shiki really deserved a better, nicer fiancé than her. He really did.

* * *

Ash woke up to his little Espurr poking his face, yelling **"Surprise, Daddy!"**

He was surprised all right, that Espurr had let herself out of the Pokéball again. Though he had let her out for training with the other Pokémon, he only played with her on occasion (leaving the playing part to Pakura) due to the fact that he was busy with his duties.

This caused his little Espurr to see Pakura as her mother like Manaphy, and joining the fan club dedicated to getting them to be a couple (as far as he knew, it must have a lot of members by now). Pikachu and Lucario probably talked her into joining and perhaps they even gave her something to prove her membership. Ash wouldn't put it past their Pokémon to do so.

Ash yawned, as he went to the bathroom to refresh himself, and dressing in a dark green shirt with a black jacket, along with snug, faded jeans that showed his legs rather well. He swept the hair that was falling in front of his eyes back, and woke Pikachu and Lucario up, before exiting the room with them.

"Queen Ilene sure acts fast." Pakura commented from the couch, where she was reading the newspaper. Ash noted that she was in a dark grey sweater that was decorate with a bow just below the neckline that was slightly towards the left, nipped in at the waist to reveal her hourglass figure with a black ruffle skirt that reached halfway through her thigh. Her hair was in a ponytail held in place with a pink and white striped ribbon that had a rabbit's head in the middle. Ash admitted she looked great as always, as Pakura got up and shoved the newspaper, which was turned to a certain page, at him.

Ash's jaw dropped when he saw that his old picture was on _The PAL Times_ under the section of "Other Regional News", which was read by millions of locals daily.

It was a pretty good picture of him, though, taken back when he was in the Unova League (travelling with Iris and Cilan, not Pakura) all those years ago. He was commanding his Snivy to use Leaf Blade on Cameron's newly evolved Lucario. He's sort of smiling, only not at the camera. He didn't remember anyone taking pictures of it, but somebody must have.

Superimposed over the photo are the words _Crown Prince Ash_ , and then in smaller letters, _Rota's Next Ruler_.

As if it wasn't enough, the phone rang, and Ash went over to answer.

"Well, Red." Paul said kind of sarcastically but in a nice way, "You might have shared this with us when you found out. Do we really have to read the papers just to get updates on you?"

Ash blushed. "Well…" He started. "I didn't think anybody would believe me."

"It is," Gary said, awestruck, "a bit unbelievable."

That was what the story on the next page of _The PAL Times_ said, too. _Dream of Becoming Prince Charming Comes True for One Lucky Pallet Town Boy_ was how the reporter, Kinsey from the Pokémon News Press in the Sinnoh Region had put it. Like he had won the lottery or something, and he should be happy about it.

Kinsey then went on length about his mother, "the beautiful and supportive housewife who tragically got murdered six years ago" and his father was described as "the disappeared dad whose whereabouts are unknown." Ash sighed at the descriptions. 'Oh thanks Kinsey, thanks for telling the entire Pokémon World that I am an orphan.' As if it was not enough, she went on to describe him as "the adorably precocious and innocent child who is the product of Delia's and an unknown man's whirlwind romance."

'Is Kinsey on crack or something?' Ash thought. 'I'm not an innocent cutie. I want what she has been smoking if she thinks I'm innocent and cute.' While it is true that not many people have the chance of being royal, but Ash had learnt that there is more to it than just living in a luxurious palace and taking private jets and having the latest clothing or accessory and always being in style.

"Well, they would sure regret kicking you to the curb like this." Tracey sniggered. "As far as we know, they are looking for ways to have good publicity. You can bet they would look all over for you to help them out."

"Hypocrites." Ash muttered.

"I agree." Paul said. "But it's a good thing. They described you as innocent, so there would be doubts cast upon whether you actually killed your own mother six years ago."

"That's true." Gary added. "Though I foresee problems…in the form of marriage contracts."

"That is only if he reveals his identity." Tracey pointed out. "But Gary's right. Since the article said that the coronation ceremony would commence once you go to Rota to claim the throne, it's better to crown the Crown Princess as well. In other words, your wife."

"I think that can be left for later." Ash interrupted nervously. "I haven't had time to think about my love life. I had too many things to worry about without adding that into the mix."

"We understand. After all, you are in charge of the Dragon Duo disappearance case. Well, just be careful to keep your identity secret. You know how much they like to pry." Gary advised. "We'll be there for you all the way!"

"Thanks guys." Ash smiled.

"We have to go now, we are going to prepare for the Top 32 Matches. Good luck!" Paul said.

"Yeah, good luck to you too." Ash nodded, before hanging up.

"You sure got a lot cut out for you." Pakura commented, having heard the entire conversation. "But they are right. Letting everyone know is not such a bad thing. We can use it to our advantage to help in our case when we bring your mother's murder case to court. I can get Chairman William to call in a Defense Attorney to take on your case. But not just any Defense Attorney. I want someone that can turn things in our favour. Someone who has an unwavering determination in the courtroom and would believe in his clients until the end. Someone like…."

Somewhere in Los Angeles, a certain spiky haired attorney wearing a blue suit and a golden attorney's badge at the collar of his jacket accidentally sneezed into his papers.

"Are you alright, Nick?" his assistant, wearing purple acolyte clothes and having some of her hair in a topknot asked. "Are you catching a cold? We can turn the heater up, if needed."

"It's nothing Maya, it's probably just a fluke." Phoenix Wright replied. "It's not easy for me to just catch a cold like that, considering I've been through worse." He wondered if there would be a case where the client would be willing to pay for the rent and bills for a good six months with some money left over for decent food.

Little did he know that there is a case like that waiting for him in a supernatural region, and it would be given to him soon enough.

Back in the PAL Region, Pakura brought more news that Siebold had to forfeit his match against Champion Wallace due to the fact that he was still in the hospital. The PAL Elites were disappointed, but knew that the show had to go on. They glared at Rosaline, who looked back at them with an innocent look on her face.

'Hmm looks like my match is first, followed by Phillip's and Rosaline's match would be before Ash's. It'll give me plenty of time to teach her a little lesson.' Pakura thought, inwardly smirking. 'She's going to be in for a treat. Also, I'll just let Jude and Phillip take out each other, considering I have the means to do so. But I'll need an alibi so Ash won't suspect me.' With that, she took out her Pokégear, and dialled a certain number. After a few rings, the person picked up.

"Hey, Champion Steven? About the invitation to hang out together, I was wondering if we can do it sometime after my match. I would like to get to know you as a friend after all."

* * *

"And the Top 32 Match would now commence! First up, we have Elite Drasna vs. Elite Pakura. Would Drasna be able to prevail against Pakura's Dragon Slayer team? Or would she fall like many others? Let's find out right here, right now in the Grassy Terrain!" With that, the grass battlefield appeared, and as Kenneth announced the two competitors, the platform pushed them out.

"This would be a three-on-three battle between Elite Drasna and Elite Pakura. Elites, please send out your first Pokémon." Evan ordered.

"Let's do this, Druddigon!" Drasna chose the Cave Pokémon.

"Alright, let's go, Lapras!" Pakura chose to go with the Transport Pokémon.

"Let the battle begin!" Evan announced, putting his flags down.

"You may have the first move." Pakura offered.

"Big mistake, dear." Drasna smiled. "Druddigon, start things off with Dragon Rage!"

"Direct it back with Psychic." Pakura ordered. Lapras' eyes glowed as she directed the Dragon Rage, causing the power of both Psychic and Dragon Rage to hit Druddigon.

"She's fast." Drasna commented. "That's just wonderful news, though! Facing opponents like her will make my Pokémon grow like weeds! Druddigon, let's use Flash Cannon!"

"Ice Beam on the ground, and slide away." Pakura said. Lapras nodded, as she froze the battlefield and slid away in time to avoid the Flash Cannon. "Now use Double Team." Lapras created copies of herself and surrounded the battlefield to confuse Druddigon.

"Attack them all using Draco Meteor!" Drasna commanded.

"Thunderbolt." Pakura countered. The Thunderbolt managed to destroy Draco Meteor, causing the battlefield to be covered with colourful fireworks. Everyone was in awe of the fireworks display.

"Get close and use Toxic!" Drasna ordered.

Pakura waited until Druddigon was close, before saying, "Dragon Pulse." The move pushed Druddigon back, and it was then assaulted with a Blizzard.

"What power." Drasna was awed. "But it is not over yet!"

Meanwhile, Ash sat at the VIP Box watching the match. 'I am not sure who is stronger between Drasna and Malva, though if Malva can't win against Paku even with the type advantage, I doubt Drasna can win with the type disadvantage. It'll probably explain why she is the Leader of the Elite despite the fact that all of them have the type advantage against her….well, except for Jude's Dark-types against her Fairy-type. Using something that is a disadvantage against her is basically suicide.' He thought.

"Hey, Red." A voice said from behind him. Ash turned to see Cynthia sitting behind him.

"Hello, Cynthia." Ash greeted. "What is it?"

"Well, Brock's participating in the Pokémon Beauty Contest this afternoon. I was wondering if you would watch the contest to see if no sabotages were made just like what happened to May, Dawn, Cilan, and Misty." Cynthia said thoughtfully. "With you, I think no one would dare do anything to ruin the competition."

"I was there for Misty's water performance, but yet something happened." Ash pointed out dryly.

"I know, but I heard that the people of PAL virtually regarded you as a God, with some even claiming you to be the human version of Arceus itself." Cynthia said. "So I figured you have the ability to find out if there would be any plans of sabotage beforehand."

"I see." Ash nodded. "I'll think about it." With that, he left the VIP Box, towards the lobby. Only to run into the female traitors, who had a copy of _The PAL Times_ in their hands. Narrowing his eyes, he concealed his presence, and hid behind the receptionist counter, as the receptionist was out at the moment.

"I can't believe Ash had this secret and he didn't tell us!" Misty huffed. "We are his friends!"

"Yeah." Dawn looked at the article. "I say we double our efforts to find him, and give him a chance to prove his innocence."

"Wait, what?" Iris was shocked.

"Look, if I remember correctly, Ash should be around 21 by now. So obviously, he needs a wife to be able to be crowned the Crown Prince of Rota." May said. "His wife would automatically become the Crown Princess. So once we find him, we convince them that we can help keep him in line, and we give him a choice: Either he marries one of us, or he gets the full penalty of murdering his mother."

"That's a great idea!" Dawn grinned.

"But what about Champion Red? I thought you girls were going for him." Iris pointed out.

"We lost our chance the moment Cynthia said she loved him." Dawn sighed. "I guess she is Champion Red's type of woman. But who would do the honour of being Ash's wife?"

"I should." Misty spoke up. "I can keep him in line. After all, he's scared of me and my mallet."

"No way, I should be!" May added. "I'm the Princess of Hoenn, and I know how to act like one better than all of you!"

"Two of you are wrong!" Dawn glared. "I look best in princess gowns. After all, I was Princess of Arrowroot Town for a day."

"No way, kids!" Iris huffed. "He needs someone who can help with being wild and having fun. I am the best to do that!"

Ash sighed, as he listened to the girls' squabble, which changed to their bad points that was exposed the other day.

"Oh yeah?" May hissed. "Ash doesn't need a girl like you. Telling him what to do."

"I wasn't the one who crashed a car while drunk, was I?" Misty shot back.

"At least I don't cheat or look fake!" May countered.

"Can't say the same for the two of you with Dawn having what, sugar daddies?" Iris added, as she glared at Misty and Dawn.

"At least I don't spread rumours on my own friends!" Dawn hissed at May.

'I can't stand to listen to them any longer.' Ash was about to figure out a way to get back to the VIP Box, when the door opened and Rosaline made her way to the Launch Room. To his surprise, behind her was Pakura. He made use of the distraction to make his way to the edge of the counter.

"Remember what I said, Rosaline." Pakura said coldly. Rosaline nodded, as she disappeared into the Launch Room.

"Hey, Paku." Ash approached her, pretending to have been outside to buy something and thus, had not overheard the girls' conversation. He felt their eyes boring into him, but ignored them.

"Hello, Red." Pakura raised her brow. "I'll be out with Steven, so prince lessons would be cancelled for today."

"What?" Ash was shocked. "Wait, who is going?"

"Just me and him." Pakura shrugged. "Hope you don't mind."

"No, of course not." Ash said, but inwardly he was screaming for her to change her mind.

"Good. Then go back to watch the match." Pakura said. "I'll be going to get some ingredients for the Poképuffs before I go out with Champion Steven."

Ash nodded, as he went back to the VIP Box. However, as soon as he did, Pakura turned to the girls who were unashamedly eavesdropping.

'I don't think Ash would have time to sabotage Brock, so I'll just let them destroy one another.' Pakura's eyes started to glow red, and held them in place.

As they struggled, she said an incantation in Latin.

* * *

"And give a round of applause for Rosaline's brilliant victory against Leader Wulfric!" Kenneth announced. In truth, it was a good battle, considering Wulfric was the most powerful Gym Leader in the Kalos Region, despite the fact that Rosaline had a massive type advantage. However, despite this, Rosaline only used her Psychic-type Pokémon instead of her Fire-types to be fair to her opponent.

"Continuing the Top 32 of the Pokémon World Championships, which would now take place in an Icy Terrain!" Kenneth announced, as the battlefield from Rosaline's battle (A Rocky Terrain) went down, only to be replaced with an ice battlefield. "Let's welcome the two participants, we have Champion Red and Elite Lorelei, who would be fighting it out on this battlefield!" At that, the platform rose and brought them out into the battlefield.

"Seismitoad, lend me your aura!" Ash chose the Vibration Pokémon.

"Alright, then I choose…" Lorelei threw a Pokéball to reveal a Cloyster, the very same one that gave Ash's Pikachu a beating all those years ago.

'Sorry, Lorelei, but this time you will be losing badly.' Ash thought, smirking. 'I don't have anything against you, but you are still my opponent.'

"Let the battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Ladies first." Ash offered.

"Don't mind if I do. Cloyster, start things off with Hydro Pump!" Lorelei commanded. Ash shook his head as the attack hit. However, Seismitoad did not seem fazed at all by the attack.

Lorelei was puzzled, until Ash said, "Water Absorb."

'Darn it! Of all the Abilities, it has the Hidden Ability.' Lorelei thought, as Ash said, "Seismitoad, let's use Drain Punch!" Seismitoad skated on the ice, getting close to Cloyster, before hitting it with an effective Drain Punch, draining Cloyster's energy and recovering its own. Not that it needed it since it was still the beginning of the match, but still….

"Cloyster, use Aurora Beam!" Lorelei called out.

"Hyper Voice!" Ash countered. The two attacks collided, and Ash made use of it to call in an Ice Punch.

"Withdraw!" Lorelei ordered. The Withdraw allowed Cloyster to block Ice Punch, causing Seismitoad to jump back.

'It'll be hard to penetrate that shell.' Ash sighed. 'But oh well, she just forced my hand. I'll just weaken Cloyster to the point it can't protect itself.' With that, he commanded a Toxic, which hit Cloyster, badly poisoning it.

Lorelei was about to switch Cloyster out, but Ash stopped her by using Infestation, which would also chip away Cloyster's health along with the Poison status.

'Darn it!' Lorelei thought, but she was desperate to end the battle. "Cloyster, Giga Impact!"

"Grass Knot!" The Grass Knot tripped Cloyster, sending it crashing onto the hard ice.

"Cloyster, use Re-" Lorelei started, but was cut off.

"Venoshock!" Ash commanded. The Venoshock dealt double damage due to the Poison status, and Cloyster's health was also drained with the Infestation move.

"Finish it. Drain Punch!" Before Lorelei could react, the Drain Punch hit Cloyster, sending it flying, as it also absorbed Cloyster's health. Cloyster fell with swirls in its eyes.

"Cloyster is unable to battle!" Evan announced. "Elite Lorelei, please send in your next Pokémon."

"Good work, Cloyster. Return." Lorelei returned her Cloyster to the Pokéball, before taking out another one. "Alright, now I choose…" She threw the Pokéball, and it opened to reveal a Dewgong.

"Seismitoad, good job." Ash returned Seismitoad, before taking out another Pokéball. "Meganium, lend me your aura!" Ash's overly affectionate Meganium came out, and as soon as she saw Ash, she ran, or rather, skated over for a big hug.

"I love you too, Meganium. Now let's win this together…" Ash said awkwardly, as Meganium nodded, and got into battle stance.

"It looks like Champion Red decided to go for the Grass-type Meganium! Is he at an advantage or a disadvantage? Let's find out!" Kenneth announced.

"Battle begin!" Evan called out.

"Dewgong, Ice Beam!" Lorelei commanded.

"Meganium, dodge and use Leech Seed!" Ash countered. Meganium skated away, and shot a Leech Seed at Dewgong, and the seeds sprout vines which wrapped around Dewgong.

"Dewgong!" Lorelei shouted, worried for her Pokémon. 'I've got to find a way out of that Leech Seed!' She thought, as the vines started to suck energy from Dewgong.

"Meganium, use Petal Blizzard!" Ash ordered. Meganium nodded and fired a powerful Petal Blizzard at Dewgong, who tried to endure the hit.

"Blizzard, quickly!" Lorelei yelled. Dewgong opened its mouth to fire a Blizzard to counter the attack, and successfully did so despite being tied up. "Now, Ice Shard!" The Ice Shard hit Meganium hard, as she skidded back.

"Not bad. Meganium, Sunny Day!" Ash commanded. Meganium nodded, and the battlefield was now filled with sunlight.

"Dewgong, use Aqua Tail!" Lorelei ordered. Due to the ice battlefield, Dewgong was able to move faster by skating towards Meganium, ready to send the move.

"Grass Knot!" Ash countered. The Grass Knot tripped Dewgong, sending it crashing heavily on the ice. "Now, use Synthesis!" The Synthesis managed to recover the lost energy Meganium lost, as Dewgong got up.

"Ice Beam!" Lorelei said.

"Energy Ball!" Ash nodded. The Energy Ball pushed the Ice Beam back, and it hit Dewgong, sending it skidding backwards. "Now, Leaf Storm!" The Leaf Storm sent Dewgong flying, and it cried out as it was hit by the barrage of leaves inside the tornado.

"Finish it. Solar Beam!" Ash snapped his fingers. Due to the Sunny Day, the Solar Beam took less time to charge, and Meganium fired a powerful Solar Beam just as Dewgong was falling. The Solar Beam his its mark and Dewgong fell to the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Dewgong is unable to battle! Elite Lorelei, please send out your last Pokémon!" Evan ordered.

'I hardly got a hit on his Pokémon. Just how far does his strength go?' Lorelei thought, as she returned her Dewgong after thanking it for its hard work. "For my last Pokémon, I choose…" She threw a Pokéball, and it opened to reveal a Jynx.

'Doesn't seem any stronger than the Jynx Paku owns. That's saying something, considering Jynx is her weakest Pokémon.' Ash thought. 'Let's get this over with.'

"Alright, Meganium, good work." Ash obliged at her demand for a hug, before retuning her. "Butterfree, lend me your aura!" He sent out his Butterfree, the very first Pokémon he caught.

He had met up with Butterfree again while travelling with Pakura at Wayfarer Island, and when he learnt of what had happened, he insisted on returning to help him in his quest of revenge. His mate followed him, but became interested in Pokémon Contests and Pokémon Showcases, not to mention the accessories Pakura tended to dress her Pokémon in and her hobby of grooming her Pokémon.

Hence, she decided to go to Pakura to join in the fun of performing on stage and being beautified off it. It didn't hurt that she had Pokéblocks, Poffins and Poképuffs ready for them all the time.

"Battle begin!" Evan put his flags down.

* * *

'Oh no!' Rosaline thought as her favourite ring dropped, and rolled under the connecting door that led to Pakura's room. She rushed over to the other side of the room and tried to open the connecting door leading to Pakura's room, but of course, it was locked.

Rosaline knocked on the door. "Hello, Pakura?"

There was no answer.

'Oh, of course she isn't there.' Rosaline thought. 'She is watching Ash's match after all. Perhaps she wouldn't mind if I went to her room to take my ring back.' She tried Pakura's door as well when she went outside, but that door was locked as well.

'I really can't wait for her to come back to help me find my ring.' Rosaline folded her arms impatiently. 'That ring was given to me by my parents after all. Well, we are both girls, so I don't see what she has to hide.' She nodded, and went back to her room. She conjured a fiery-like energy sphere in her hand, and threw it at the door. The doors exploded, and much to her delight, Pakura's room was now accessible.

Rosaline went in to search for her ring, and found it lying at the foot of Pakura's desk. She picked up the ring, and was about to leave when she stopped. This is a good time to look around Pakura's room, and find out what she was hiding, as she always wondered why Pakura never lets them in her room. She hated that Pakura didn't trust them at all, especially her, since she is supposed to be her girl companion to share all the secrets and have nice gossips with.

Pakura's room was certainly very neat and clean like she expected, except for the desk which was full of papers and books probably from her work. At her bedside was a pink music box that was outlined in gold. She opened the music box and found a statue of a dancing couple. Though the couple was spinning in slow circles as if slow dancing, no music was heard.

'It's broken. Why didn't she ask Phillip to fix it?' Rosaline thought.

At the other side of her bed was a treasure chest that has a padlock to keep it locked, but it had no visible keyhole or something to enter a code with. Rosaline wondered what it required in order for the lock to open, and what she kept inside that box of hers. She tried to break it open using the energy sphere once more, but the padlock deflected it back to her, and it exploded in her face. Rosaline wiped the soot, before moving on to the closet.

Inside the closet, she found hundreds of Pakura's outfits, coats, and pairs of shoes in her closet. Rosaline frowned at the amount of clothes she owned and was probably given to her for free.

'She has more cute clothes than I do, and she isn't even into cute styles.' Rosaline thought, as she wondered if Pakura would allow her to wear her dresses again like what she did for her first date with Siebold, as there are some she would love to wear to various occasions.

As she leaned against the closet wall, she accidentally pressed a button with her back, and the closet's false back opened to reveal another compartment. Rosaline turned, distracted, and decided to take a look into the hidden compartment. After all, one peek won't hurt, right?

Rosaline gasped when she saw hundreds of wine bottles, and bottles containing pills.

"Wait a minute….don't these drinks contain alcohol and anti-depressants?" Rosaline rushed over to examine them one by one. Sure enough the labels proved that the bottles contained wine and liquor, and the pill bottles contained venlafaxine, sertraline, bupropion, and duloxetine, which from what Rosaline remembered from Pakura's medical notes that they are all types of anti-depressants.

Rosaline was horrified, as she learnt that Pakura is an addict.

'And here she was preaching to me about setting an example when she don't follow them herself! What a hypocrite…' Rosaline thought, as she nodded to herself. She had to tell everybody that she was a false princess, and is undeserving of the tiara.

"What have I said about going to my room Rosaline?" A cold voice asked. Rosaline turned to see Pakura standing there.

"You claim authority of the tiara?" Rosaline laughed. "You, of all people? That's a good one! No one would want a hypocrite as a ruler! Once this is out, you will be dethroned."

"What makes you think I will let you walk away with that info?" Pakura smirked. Rosaline tried to teleport, only to realize she can't.

'What is going on?' Rosaline wondered.

"It's simple enough to put a barrier where you can't use your teleportation, since I did apply my Psychic Shields in that barrier." Pakura explained, as she used telekinesis to lock the door.

'What, she's a Psychic?' Rosaline thought, as she readied her sword that she can infuse her fire abilities with in order to increase the range and lethality of the said weapon.

"It's a pity it'll be a one-sided battle." Pakura shook her head, as her mind projecting psychic power towards Rosaline's head.

Rosaline screamed as her head felt like it was about to explode. She dropped her sword to the ground, as she fell to her knees. She threw a fireball at Pakura, who simply swatted it away with telekinesis.

"Come on, get up! You can do better than that!" Pakura mocked, as she waved her hand, removing her effect on Rosaline. Rosaline's eyes widened as she realized the full impact of what she had done towards Siebold, and the fact that he had to forfeit as he was now in the hospital. She remembered the last thing she saw was Shiki.

"How could he do this to me?" Rosaline screamed, as threw a chair at Pakura with telekinesis, only for Pakura to deflect it back to her, sending her crashing to the ground. "Why would he go out of his way to take out Siebold?"

"Because you don't deserve to be part of us." Pakura threw her bed at her, which crushed her leg, causing her to howl in pain. "You, who don't understand what we have been through and proved your incompetence still begged for a chance like you deserve it like as spoilt child. You still don't get the fact that you're only in because of my good graces. You have no empathy, and you are so self-centred, only wanting the position to prove to the bullies that you are the very best. It's sickening!"

"Oh yea, what about you?" Rosaline set fire to the room, as Pakura's eyes glowed with teleportation to transport her items to prevent them from burning. "Everyone love you so much, and you treat them like they are nothing. At least I can embrace the love given to me and not push them away! What did I ever do to you?"

"I think you said enough." Pakura raised her eyebrows coldly.

"No! Why? Why do you shut us out? Why do you shut the world out? What are you so afraid of?" Rosaline shouted.

"That's it. You have gone too far by snubbing me. Don't you see that you have lost your ideals the moment you acted like you deserved everything when Siebold showed an interest in you? Now what gives you the right to walk over all of us like you're the reincarnation of Arceus? The fact that you are born with psychic powers? Well, news flash: There are three people stronger than you in terms of psychic powers: Ash, Shiki and me. What makes you so special that you think you deserve that spot and being our Psychic specialist?" Pakura said that with malice in her voice. "You aren't even a genius in aura wielding."

"At least I would not terrorize the people under my rule." Rosaline shouted, as the fire surrounded them.

"I don't think you are in the position to say anything." Pakura shook her head. "Besides, Shiki is already dead. I merely channelled him using the spiritual power granted to me by Giratina."

"It was you all along, wasn't it?" Rosaline glared at Pakura.

Pakura nodded. "Yes, it was. It was so much fun seeing everyone hate you, and then watching you wail in despair and trying to put yourself together once you realize your actions." She looked up, revealing her blood red eyes. Rosaline gasped as her ring was taken from her, and Pakura crushed it into smithereens.

Rosaline was enraged when Pakura destroyed her gift, as she realized she was also behind all the events that had her publicly humiliated, her sister turning against her, and her beloved partner Espeon being critically injured. And now, she had to ruin the memento given to her by her family.

Picking up her sword, she charged into battle with Pakura, screaming with rage.

Pakura shook her head, as she readied her arsenal of abilities she wanted to use on Rosaline. When she is done with Rosaline, who knows when she would recover.

* * *

'My teammates are so going to be onto me if they find out I have to go alone to Coffee Cave with Diantha.' Phillip thought, as he made his way to his room halfway through Ash's match. 'Why did I agree to this in the first place?'

Phillip knew he needed to change into something nice for the outing, since it's a courtesy for one and another thing is that he would have a chance to wear some of the Haute clothes that was given to him by one of his many sponsors. Phillip looked down at his trembling hands, and put them in his pocket to hide them, half-listening to Pachirisu ranting on about what he should wear for the date

"It's not a date, Pachirisu!" Phillip glared at her for the umpteenth time.

" **Sure, it isn't."** Pachirisu giggled. **"You don't have to be so shy about it."**

"Very funny, Pachirisu." Phillip rolled his eyes, as he stepped into the elevator. "We are just acquaintances. Besides, I have heard of friends of the opposite gender having lunch all the time and there's nothing in the least romantic about it. Also, it's not as if I'd see her again after this tournament is over."

" **She'd be hurt if she heard that."** Pachirisu tittered.

"For what? It's not as if she liked me in that way." Phillip shrugged, as the elevator reached their floor. He frowned, as he smelt something burning, and realized it was from Pakura's room. He ran inside the room to see some of the things still burning. Among the wreackage was Rosaline badly bruised and cut up, and blood was dribbling form her mouth. From what he saw, it looked like she had some fatal wounds as well. Her eyes were glassy like a doll's, making Phillip sure she was also mentally tortured.

"Who did this?" Phillip gasped, only to hear Pachirisu squeak as a needle flew and hit her tail. In an instant, her eyelids became heavier, and she fell to the ground, falling asleep.

Phillip turned, trying to take out his Pokéballs to get his other Pokémon, but his Pokéballs vanished. He looked up to see Pakura standing there, looking at him calmly.

"What's going on?" Phillip shouted.

"I don't want your Pokémon to interfere." Pakura replied.

"Did you do this?" Phillip gestured to the wreckage and Rosaline's battered body.

"I did." Pakura nodded, smirking. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

'So the one behind everything, the one everyone called the Dragon Princess was…' Phillip glared at his Leader. "Why do you do this?" He couldn't believe his own Leader would endanger the rest of the group and go as far as to humiliate another in public and even target people that are not directly associated with the PAL Elite, such as Siebold.

Frankly, she was the last person on his mind as she was a wise, kindly Elite member, if a bit rigid and cold as she did go out of her way to comfort Rosaline when the article came out. However, he realized it was all an act for Rosaline to depend on her, and break it so it would be more psychologically painful.

"Why indeed?" Pakura said in a mock thoughtful voice. "Well, I don't owe you an explanation when you don't even remember anything."

"Remember what?" Phillip narrowed his eyes, confused.

"Don't worry, I still need you after all." Pakura smiled. "So I won't hurt you too badly."

Phillip summoned his weapons which can change between a machine gun and a machete whose blade glowed bright yellow and was apparently infused with pure electrical energy. He chose to remain with the blade form, as Pakura took out her fan. Phillip coated himself with Thunder Armour, and got behind Pakura, as he electrocuted her by stabbing her in the lung.

However, Pakura was unfazed as she kicked Phillip away, and took out the machete. Before his very eyes, Pakura regenerated her wounds, and she looked as good as new.

'No way! She's highly resistant to electricity?' Phillip thought. 'There renders half my abilities useless against her.'

"You got that right." Pakura brushed her hair aside, and Phillip gasped at her red eyes.

Phillip decided to conjure some steel balls, and hurled it as Pakura, who simply teleported Rosaline's body to use as a human shield, damaging her even further. Phillip widened his eyes at Pakura's cruelty.

"You're horrible!" Phillip blurted out, as he clashed weapons with her, as she blocked his slash with a fan. Phillip got slashed at several different parts with her paper fan, making him fall back, as he created a lightning flash, which blinded Pakura temporarily, before firing conjured blades at her.

Pakura sliced them all into pieces with her fan, which allowed Phillip to go close to her to try and get her with his Puppet Control so he could take her into custody and warn the others. However, Pakura seemed to have anticipated his attack, as she threw him against the broken bed with telekinesis. Phillip gritted his teeth as he felt blood flow out of his back. The next instant, Pakura was behind him, and forcefully yanking out the broken bits out of his back, causing him to yelp in pain.

Phillip turned, and clashed his machete with Pakura, who covered her hand with an ice sword. He used his other hand to stab her through her body again using aura. Pakura shook her head, as her eyes glowed briefly, and Phillip found himself with the same wound he inflicted her with.

"What…" Blood bubbled out of Phillip's mouth as he gasped for breath, eyes wide open in shock.

"You left yourself wide open when you attacked." Pakura remarked, as she stomped her foot, and the entire room shook, throwing him off balance and the next thing he knew, Pakura had conjured a tornado that started sucking in all the items in the room.

Phillip tried to focus aura on his feet to stand his ground, but was knocked into the whirlwind by a dressing table and was severely damaged by all the items in the tornado.

Pakura then leaped into the tornado herself and jumped on the items to get to Phillip before knocking him against the wall with a slice of her katana as the tornado dissipated. As Phillip got up, Pakura held him down with telekinesis, and chanted in Latin.

Phillip then silently walked out of the room, using his aura to cover his wounds.

'Luckily with the state of mind Rosaline is in, there is no way Ash can read her memories. As for Phillip, if what Giratina told me was correct, as long as my control on him is active, he won't be able to read his mind due to the fact that his mind is filled with spiritual power I implanted when I controlled him via Scarlet Anger. I'll just let Phillip handle Jude, and go establish my alibi.' Pakura thought. 'That is what they get for blowing off training for their social lives.'

* * *

"And Jynx is unable to battle!" Evan announced at the downed Jynx. Butterfree was panting while hovering above the unconscious Jynx. "Which means, the one moving on to the Top 16 is Champion Red!"

"Good battle." Lorelei held out a hand to Ash, as they walked towards each other at the side of the ice battlefield. "I never had an opponent push me so hard before."

"I'm glad I could do so." Ash replied, as he shook her hand. Lorelei smiled, as she made her way back to the VIP Box to continue watching the matches. Ash frowned, as he didn't see any of his Elite members in the VIP Box, and wondered what they were up to. He noticed Steven wasn't around either, and remembered that he was supposed to hang out with Pakura today.

Ash scowled as he resolved to look for Pakura, considering she had promised to show him Pakura Goldstein's notebook, and made his way to the lobby, where he ran into Cynthia, who was leaning against the wall, looking around. When she saw him, she straightened up and went, "Hey." before giving him a smile that showed her perfectly straight white teeth.

"Hello, Cynthia." Ash nodded.

"You were great at the match, Red." Cynthia commented. "I hope you and I would face each other soon. I do love tough opponents."

"Me too. I am hoping for a good fight in this tournament. The last time I had a really good fight was when I was up against Paku." Ash remarked.

Ash swore he saw Cynthia's eyes narrow slightly, but it could be his eyes playing tricks on him since he didn't really have enough sleep from last night. "Do you have any plans for today?" She asked in a totally casual way.

"No, not after Paku cancelled our plans." Ash shrugged.

"Then why don't you hang out with me?" Cynthia offered. "After all, it's lonely to look around town alone. And you can give me a tour, since you live in this region." Pikachu and Lucario frowned at this, and looked at each other.

"Yeah, alright. That might be fun." Ash said nonchalantly. "I might drive you around too."

Cynthia smiled. "Great. Shall we go?"

"Where would you like to go?" Ash nodded, as they exited the Battle Arena.

"I don't mind." Cynthia shrugged.

"Well, I guess I'll take you to the mall." Ash replied as he led her to Pakura's black convertible car parked at the parking lot near the Battle Arena that she said he could use if needed. In fact, she got an extra car key for him if he needed it and she wasn't around.

"You drive?" Cynthia was amazed.

"Yeah I got my license when I came here. Paku taught me how to drive." Ash opened the door for her, and got into the car himself. He placed his seatbelt, and pulled out of the lot. As he drove, he decided to make small talk. "I heard Haute is the nicest clothing store in Tipas Shopping Complex. As Champion, I believe you can afford to splurge on your allowance since it is also one of the most expensive stores."

"Who told you about that store?" Cynthia asked curiously.

"Rosaline told me about a time where she and Paku went shopping together in Tipas Shopping Complex…actually it's more like Paku went and she followed like a lost Growlithe, and they went to that store. Needless to say, as a probation member, she can't even afford any of their clothes, but Paku can, since she had money saved up." Ash answered. He didn't mention that Rosaline came home crying that Pakura had accepted an opportunity that was offered to her and refused to let her in one the benefit of the said opportunity, telling her she didn't deserve it.

 _Rosaline and Pakura were sipping smoothies that they had gotten from a café earlier, looking at the various stores that adorned the mall. Pakura was shooting looks of disdain at Rosaline, who seemed eager to go into all the stores to take a look around._

" _Just to let you know, I'm not carrying your purchases." Pakura said coolly. Of all the days she felt like going shopping instead of ordering clothes from catalogues while she was soaking in the tub after a long day of work or training, Rosaline just had to tag along._

" _Alright, alright." Rosaline nodded. "I'm not going to ask you anyway." She half lied._

 _Pakura glared at her some more, before heading to the store called Haute. As they got closer, a dress caught her eye. It was a striking light blue colour and made out of shimmery silk, so soft and smooth it looked like it was straight from a river. It was also shorter and more fitted than some of the dresses she currently owned._

" _Hello." A tall redhead whose nametag read "Lisa" said when they walked into the store. "Can I help you?"_

" _We're just browsing, but I'd like it if you could let me try that dress." Pakura pointed._

" _Sure." Lisa nodded. "I think that size looks perfect." With that, she went to the back of the store to get the dress, and handed it to Pakura. "Try it on."_

 _Pakura went to the dressing room, and came out wearing the dress. Sure enough, like Lisa said, the size was perfect for her, as it accentuated her figure well, and yet it didn't look like it was uncomfortable for Pakura._

" _Wow….that's going to break a lot of hearts." Lisa whistled. "Wait, there is a few more accessories to go with the set. Just let me get them."_

" _Seen anything you want?" Pakura asked Rosaline sarcastically._

 _Rosaline had her eye on the red dress, but realized that it would eat up her allowance for the entire month if she had bought it. She sighed. Of course Pakura would choose the most expensive store to shop in._

" _Nobody said you had to come with me. After all, who was the one that stuffed her breakfast down and followed me when I said I was going to the mall?" Pakura raised her brow, as Lisa came back with a pair of strappy shoes and long silver earrings for her. She thanked Lisa, before slipping them both on._

" _Unbelievable." Lisa said approvingly. "You would have to get the whole ensemble."_

" _I would." Pakura sighed. "If it doesn't eat half my money. Rosaline if you are bored, why don't you check out the other cheaper shops? That way you won't have to watch me."_

 _Rosaline nodded, before exiting the store to see which clothes she would like to buy. The second Rosaline was gone, however, Lisa turned to Pakura with a gleam in her eye. "I've got a proposal for you. A proposal that would let you get the dress, and shoes, and earrings. And." She went on, wriggling her eyebrows, "anything else you wanted."_

 _Pakura narrowed her eyes. "How?" She asked._

" _We have this program called Haute Models Ambassadors. Basically, we recruit the prettiest, most popular people from all over the PAL Region, and let them take Haute outfits for free- as long as they tell everyone where they got them. We even have a little booklet for you, containing tips on which shirts look good with which bottoms, which earrings to wear for different occasions, that kind of stuff. Elite Jude himself is doing it as well…" Lisa looked at her hopefully._

' _I could tell.' Pakura thought, as she had noticed the increasing number of clothes Jude owned. At first, she thought it was from his modelling agency, but somehow she noticed him advertising the Haute brand to everyone._

" _After all, you'll be a great candidate for the program." Lisa brightened up._

" _Why would you say that?" Pakura frowned at her._

" _Come on. You're the PAL Princess, aren't you, Princess Pakura?" Lisa giggled._

 _Pakura widened her eyes slightly. She hadn't expect it to get out so fast._

" _I know you only got the title recently, but girls like you are opinion leaders. If you think Haute is cool, then believe me, it is. After all, who won't want to look like you?" She winked after looking Pakura up and down. "So, what do you say?"_

' _This is too good to be true.' Pakura thought. "There is some kind of catch."_

" _No, no catch, I promise." Lisa answered. "If you don't believe me, you can ask Aquamarine. She is one of the designers for Haute and Mon Petit Cheri clothing line."_

" _Aquamarine Alexandrite?" Pakura frowned. She remembered that Aquamarine had offered to be her personal stylist and clothes designer. She had to think about the offer carefully, considering she was the designer for her and Shiki when they were the Dragon Duo._

" _That's right." Lisa nodded. "She was the designer and stylist for the Dragon Duo after all."_

" _Fine, I'll do it." Pakura sighed._

" _Yeah?" Lisa looked at her questioningly. "It's pretty easy, Princess Pakura. You just have to sign a contract saying you'll use Haute's name seven times a week. Plus we'll give you a cute Winter Fairy Owl Summoning Bracelet."_

" _What, did Phillip help you out too?" Pakura asked sarcastically. She knew about these types of bracelets made by Phillip that would somehow allow a cute or beautiful creature to fly alongside the wearer._

" _Oh yes, we do sponsor and send him clothes in return." Lisa grinned. "You in?"_

 _Pakura shrugged. "Sure."_

" _Hey, Pakura! I found a store that…." Rosaline trailed off as Pakura was carrying two whole bags of Haute clothes and accessories. "How much are these?"_

" _For me?" Pakura raised her eyebrow. "It's free."_

" _Why?" Rosaline was shell-shocked._

" _Apparently they recruit all the good looking people to advertise their clothing, hence why it isn't on the advertisement boards, yet it is one of the most popular clothing brand alongside Mon Petit Cheri." Pakura explained. "Looks like I'm in luck. You can go buy your own clothes now."_

" _Aren't you going to…?" Rosaline pointed to the clothes eagerly._

" _Well, we do want to avoid disappointment when people see you wear it instead of me." Pakura yawned as she watched Rosaline's smile vanish at her implication. "Besides, you should concentrate on what you have instead of what you don't have."_

"Maybe I can borrow your Hunter's License for it." Cynthia said musingly. "Considering Hunters do get to use the public facilities for free and the services are provided at first class."

"Actually, Haute and Mon Petit Cheri used to be catered specifically for Hunters due to their status as elite members of humanity until they decided to open branches around the world. So, they have been keeping the tradition that even Hunters would have to pay, and the most they get would be a discount instead of being totally free." Ash explained. "Also, I don't lend my Hunter's License to just anyone."

"Don't you trust me?" Cynthia bit her lip, as Ash turned in towards the basement of the shopping mall he was taking her to.

"When you have been through what I had, you won't trust anyone that easily either." Ash replied grimly, as he parked the car at an empty parking space. "It's nothing personal."

* * *

While Cynthia was trying on a periwinkle dress at the Haute store, Ash looked out the window, getting bored at the fact that Cynthia can't seem to make up her mind as to which dress she wanted to buy for the closing ceremony to impress everyone. Frankly, Ash thought she looked beautiful in all the dresses, and wished she would get a dress so they could go have lunch.

Ash didn't have this kind of problem when he went to the mall with Pakura a couple of times, as she would be able to decide on which outfit she wanted, as if she had planned them beforehand. Furthermore, she didn't care what others think of her outfit, since the person wearing it is her and she has the right to wear whatever she liked.

"Red, what do you think of this one?" Cynthia came out in a pretty dark green dress that fell to her legs and had a silt up the side with an off the shoulder top. It looked like the dress was made for her.

Ash opened his mouth to say, "I think you should hurry up and get a dress, because I'm hungry." However, he scowled as he saw Misty and Dawn heading towards the Haute store, apparently ready for some shopping. They stopped when they saw Ash and Cynthia.

"Hey, Champion Cynthia! You're on a date with Champion Red?" Dawn shot an uneasy look at Ash.

"I'd love to think it's a date." Cynthia smiled. "But since you're here, you can join us! I'm sure Red doesn't mind."

"Great! I was thinking of doing some shopping done before we go support Brock. We need to try and stick together. From the looks of it, somebody is trying to tear us apart." Misty replied.

'I need to get away. I can't stand to be near them.' Ash thought, as he heard Dawn say, "I'm obsessed with that dress." She was pointing to a black dress that had a low neckline leant towards the left side that would most likely expose some shoulder and the left cleavage, which included a black waistband with a red ribbon at the side of the dress. The dress was full skirt and seemed to be made out of velvet silk.

Dawn looked over to Lisa, and store clerk. "Can you get me a size four?" She asked bossily.

Lisa raised her eyebrows at her. "A four? You sure?"

"Yes!" Misty snapped at her, nostrils flaring a little. She coughed, regaining her composure. "She wants a size four." As Lisa went to hunt down the dress, Dawn turned to Ash. "It's called the law of positive thinking." She explained. "If I believe I'm a four, I'll be a four."

'Oh please, you figure is double that of Paku's when it comes to the waist, and your hips are as wide as hers.' Ash thought. 'And she is a size eighteen, mainly because to accommodate her height and chest size.' He remembered Pakura was grumbling about having to go bra shopping again earlier in the year due to the fact that all her bras no longer fitted her as her figure had become even more developed from all the training she did. Ash thought despite the fact that Pakura is a bigger size than Dawn, she certainly looks way better proportioned than Dawn.

"You know Champion Red, maybe Ash had the inability to change because he didn't believe in change. If only he changed his style and attitude, maybe he would have succeeded in winning a league by now." Misty added.

"Excuse me?" Ash was insulted.

" **What did you say?"** Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity.

"Misty doesn't mean anything bad by it." Cynthia said soothingly. "But where did you learn that from, Dawn?"

"Oh," Dawn said casually as she turned from side to side to examine her reflection in the mirror. "I must have read it from somewhere. Don't remember where, though." Just then, Lisa came with the dress for Dawn, and she went to the dressing room to change into it.

"These clothes are all so perfect!" Misty walked around the store, looking at the various clothing and accessories on sale. "I've got to get them. Red, you will help me carry my stuff, won't you?" She gave him a puppy-eyed look.

"I am not helping you." Ash hissed acidly. "Besides, someone like you won't be able to afford them anyway, considering you need to pay for the damages of the performance hall and secondly, considering you are already one of the most unpopular people in this region, I don't really want to tarnish my reputation."

Misty, angry, was about to retort, when a "Ta-da!" was heard, and Dawn flung the curtain back and stepped out wearing the Black Holiday Dress. Ash bit down on his lip as she twirled around. The dress was so tight on her it looked like it was painted on. Moreover, bits of skin popped through where it was buttoned in the back and with her pale skin, it made her look washed out. "What do you guys think? Just a little dazzle along the hem and it's perfect, right?"

"Yeah!" Misty nodded enthusiastically.

"Looking good, Dawn." Cynthia sounded less sincere, though, as she stood at the rack wondering what other dresses she could try on.

'No amount of positive thinking can make that dress look good on her or fit her well.' Ash thought savagely.

"It's not the best fit for you." Lisa commented.

Dawn paused in front of the mirror, studying her reflection. "You're right." she said finally. "I think I'd look better in a size two." She turned to Lisa impatiently. "Do you have one?"

Lisa swallowed loudly, looking incredulous. "Uh, no," she replied. Ash could tell she was struggling to keep her voice even. "The last one was taken by another customer, I'm sorry."

"Oh well." Dawn hitched the dress up to her thighs, checking out what it would look like shorter. "I could always tighten this up myself…" Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she sauntered back to the dressing room.

"By the way, Champion Red." Lisa turned to him.

"Yeah?" Ash was surprised at being addressed.

"Could you tell Princess Pakura her next batch of free outfits and accessories are ready to be collected?" Lisa said. "She is a real star in the program. I am glad we managed to recruit her to advertise our clothing in exchange." The girls, overhearing this, widened their eyes at the fact that Pakura was getting free clothes and accessories from what they considered the most expensive store.

"I want to do it too!" Dawn exclaimed, as she popped her head out of the dressing room. She had unbuttoned the black dress in the back and hiked it up to her waist, but it was stuck there, bunched so tight it was digging into her skin. She did a little jump in excitement, clapping her hands together. They heard a ripping sound and everyone froze. It had split along the seam, revealing Dawn's jet black underwear.

"Oh!" Dawn gasped, backing up into the dressing room. "I…I…" Suddenly her voice grew angry. "What a piece of crap this dress is! I can't believe you're charging two thousand Pokédollars with it. All I did was take one step and it ripped. I really should call the designer and lodge a complaint!" She let the door to the dressing room slam shut again behind her.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Lisa said in a tight voice, "I don't think you'll be right for the program."

"Dawn, hurry up! We need to watch Brock participate in the Beauty Contest! It's important!" Misty shouted.

Ash, however, did not hear Misty's last remark as he noticed Pakura walking past the Haute store so fast she was practically a blur. Ash got up and exited the store, calling her name. Pakura turned, and when she saw him, she rolled her eyes as if she had enough of him for one day.

"What," she said in a totally non-friendly manner.

"Lisa said she had a new bag of clothes and accessories waiting to be collected." Ash told her.

"Alright, thanks for the message." She proceeded to walk away, but Ash grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Why did you do that?" Ash asked.

"Do what?" Pakura raised her brow.

"You know what. Cancel our plans for today for Champion Steven." Ash asked. "It's not like you to do so."

"Excuse me if I don't find enough excitement from hunting down criminals, doing paperwork behind a desk and delegate missions, negotiating trade deals as both the Elite Leader and PAL Princess and training. I just want to relax a bit before I have to judge that Interregional Pokémon Showcase." Pakura said sarcastically. "Sorry for not wanting to be by your side all the time, ready and willing to help you at a moment's notice. Besides, my personal life isn't any of your business, and neither is the fact that you are now out shopping with the enemy any of mine, considering I wasn't invited."

"It's just that…." Ash started, but Pakura cut him off.

"You know what, Red." Pakura ran a hand through her hair. "You've made it very clear this past week that you make your own decisions and don't need anybody's help- or opinions, not even mine. You've been doing fine without me so far. So I gave you a break. Is there anything wrong with it?"

"I still need your guidance, and you know it, Paku." Ash's shoulders slumped a little. "I still do love Cynthia and wish to win her over, but lately I have been conflicted about my feelings for her. However, I also feel that if I go for it and make her my girlfriend, all of you will hate me. Even you, assuming you don't hate me now."

"Assuming that," Pakura replied dryly. "Also assuming you care what I think and how I feel about you."

"I care." Ash said, stung by her implication that he didn't.

"Just do what you want." Pakura sighed, as she spotted someone out of the corner of her eye. "After all, even I don't have any say on what you can or cannot do. I believe you can do the right thing, Red. That is all I have to say." With that, she made her way towards Steven, who was apparently helping her carry some of her purchases.

'I think I better get out of the mall. There is no way I am spending another minute near them.' Ash thought. 'Cynthia can get her own ride back as far as I am concerned.' With that, he made use of his Enhanced Speed to get out of range of Haute store before Cynthia would be able to catch him and towards the parking lot where Pakura's car was.

As he drove back, the CommuniDex rang.

"What is it?" Ash answered, only to be shocked when he saw Diantha's face.

"Please Red, come quick!" Diantha was in tears.

"What happened? How did you get the CommuniDex?" Ash demanded.

"Phillip and Jude are critically injured! Both of them are in a medically induced coma in the hospital and I saw Rosaline there too!" Diantha wailed.

"I'm on my way." Ash said grimly, as he applied more force onto the accelerator.

* * *

Ash burst into the Emergency Room waiting area to see Diantha sobbing at one of the chairs outside. He sat down next to her, and asked, "Champion Diantha, what's going on?"

Diantha looked up at Ash, not caring about her running makeup, and answered, "I was waiting for Phillip to show up at Coffee Cave, as we did agree to meet up. When he didn't show up, I left to go and find him, but I saw this lightning flash, though it was pretty sunny. I thought something was wrong so I send out Gardevoir and rushed into the scene only to…." Diantha gave a great wail of despair.

"What did you see?" Ash prompted.

"Phillip and Jude…both of them looked like they were fighting to the death, with all the injuries and bruises they had. I'm sure they also broke some limbs. They stabbed each other with their respective weapons, and they collapsed. I quickly went to Phillip and asked him what happened. He told me that something forced him to fight Jude, and apologized for not being able to make it to Coffee Cave, before falling unconscious. I quickly asked Gardevoir to use Teleport, and the nurse took them in the Emergency Room after putting them in a medically induced coma." Diantha explained.

'Forced to fight Jude? Could it be Mind Control?' Ash thought. 'Wait, there is no way Jude can't tell Phillip was under Mind Control, since if Mind Control is used, the eyes would be slightly cloudy, and Jude would have alerted me. So if it is not Mind Control, then what is it?'

Pikachu and Lucario looked worried for their trainer, and wondered if both Jude and Phillip were alright.

Ash swallowed, before saying, "Where's Rosaline?"

"She's in the Emergency Ward." The nurse who came out of triage replied.

"How are my Elites?" Ash enquired.

The nurse shook her head. "All three are in critical condition. I am surprised they even survived the injuries that are inflicted on them. Rosaline is the worst, as according to a psychic, she has been mentally tortured as well. Even if she recovered from her injuries….she might not be the same again…."

'Whoever did this to her must be a very powerful psychic, someone that can match Rosaline blow for blow and even exceed her in terms of psychic powers. Someone like the Dragon Duo….It must be the Dragon Princess' doing, but if that is so, the Dragon Princess can't be Paku, since she was with Steven at the Tipas Shopping Complex the whole time.' Ash thought.

"Come with me, and I'll take you to them." The nurse said, as she led them into the ER, which smelt of something sharp and antiseptic. The nurse tugged a curtain back, and Ash gasped at the injuries inflicted on Rosaline. Rosaline was bandaged all over except for her face, and her right arm had several tubes that extended to the wall behind her. She also had an oxygen mask and she was also hooked up to an IV and a heart monitor. Her eyes were slightly open, and from what Ash saw, her eyes were lifeless, like a doll's.

" **Terrible…"** Pikachu whispered. Lucario winced as well, looking away.

Ash grimaced as he followed the nurse to take a look at the other two, as the nurse had placed them in separate rooms. Jude and Phillip's conditions looked better than Rosaline's, though according to the nurse, Phillip had burn injuries as well.

'Burns? Could it be from…?' Ash glanced at the direction of Rosaline's room. He tried to read their minds to find out what happened, only for his head to hurt as he sensed dark power imbedded into their minds. He stumbled back, only to be caught by Lucario.

" **Are you alright?"** Lucario asked, concerned.

"Yeah…" Ash breathed. 'Assuming the Dragon Princess is not Paku, she might be the next target….I've got to warn her.' With that thought, he told Diantha to inform Elesa of what happened to Jude, before teleporting back to the Battle Tower. When he got there, however, he gasped as he smelt a faint smoke, most likely from a fire. The smell led him to Pakura's room, which worried him as he entered the room.

The room was thrashed like a battle had gone on in the room, and blood, most likely one of the Elite members' was splattered all over. The items in the room were all broken and some were even burnt to cinders. Ash explored the room, until he found tiny fragments that he recognized as Rosaline's favourite ring that she liked to wear on her neck.

" **Looks like it has been crushed during the battle."** Pikachu commented.

Ash frowned. Pakura seemed to have surprisingly little in terms of items, as the items that were burnt were mainly furniture. He did not see a single scrap of burnt book or even clothing as if it was moved away beforehand.

'But who could have moved them?' Ash thought. 'Rosaline? No, her teleportation skills can only be applied to herself, and she can only take one person with her at best. She may be the Psychic specialist, but her psychic powers needs a lot more work. It's atrocious.' As he explored, he noticed a broken bottle, and crushed pills. He went to read the label, and realized it was some sort of antidepressant. Was it Pakura's? Why would she need to take antidepressants?

'What happened to her that she needed to resort to this?' Ash thought.

" **You should take a break. Too many things have happened already."** Lucario suggested. **"Why don't we watch the Pokémon Showcase? After all, Pakura is going to** **give an exhibition performance at Pokémon Showcase."**

"You're right, maybe it could take my mind off things for a bit…" Ash answered. "It's not as if I have anything else to lose." With that, he exited the destroyed room, and made his way towards the elevator.

* * *

" **There are so many people."** Pikachu commented, looking around at the audience.

"Well, it is an Interregional Showcase after all. It's as good as the Master Class, since Pokémon Performers from both Kalos and PAL are participating." Ash answered. "This event would determine the best Pokémon Performer, so the attention would be a whole other level from the normal tournaments…at least that's what Paku told me."

"Ladies and gentlemen…" A pretty woman in a pink Luxury Friday Evening Dress stepped out with her Steenee. "Due to circumstances, Elite Jude would not be able to host the Pokémon Showcase, so I shall temporarily replace him until he is able to host events once more. I am Aetna, and it is a pleasure to be here." There was a collective groan, particularly from the girls. "It's been a long wait, but this moment has finally arrived. The Interregional Pokémon Showcase shall now commence."

Everyone cheered at her words, as fireworks appeared on the stage. "And let's introduce today's special guest." Aetna announced, as a spotlight appeared at the balcony seat, and everyone turned to look at where the light was shining. "She is a former Kalos Queen, and a legendary manager who has produced many successful Pokémon Performers, Miss Palermo."

Her face appeared on screen, and Palermo spoke up. "Today, I am looking forward to you proving your wonderful bond with your Pokémon and show me what it takes to get in to the Performance Round. Please do your best."

Everyone clapped at her words, as Aetna thanked her for her short speech. "Now, let's have the Kalos Queen and PAL Duchess make their appearance! Please welcome Performers Aria and Pakura!" The doors at the top of the stage opened, revealing the two Performers. Everyone was screaming the name of the beautiful pair, along with their main Pokémon.

Ash let out a breath when he saw Pakura's dress. She was wearing a dark red dress with lace at the sleeves, neckline and at the hem. It was apparently a two layered gown as at the bottom half of the gown the red silk (which hem was cut in a heart-shaped pattern) was split at the middle to reveal white cloth. There was a ribbon to adorn the chest and the neckline was low enough to reveal some cleavage. A black ribbon was also seen at the part where the red silk started to split. To match her outfit, she was wearing white thigh highs with black platform shoes. Her hair was also put back in a ruby tiara, though the back of her hair was left loose.

'Whoa…' Ash watched as Aria and Delphox waved to the audience, while Pakura and Sylveon did not acknowledge the audience.

As they reached the front of the stage, Aria greeted them. "Hello, everyone!" while Pakura simply bowed to them. "Everyone in the audience, and all those watching from the television, let us enjoy the event to the fullest!" Everyone cheered and clapped at her words.

"Thank you for the lovely speech, Aria." Aetna said. "Now, to explain the rules. Due to the number of Performers, we will hold the Theme Performance for two days. The Theme Performance would be different for both days so that no Performer would be able to convey the information on the theme to those performing on the second day. Results of who would be competing in the Free Performance would only be announced after the judges have collated the results and selected the Performers whom they feel should move on."

Ash watched as Pakura and Sylveon looked at one another, and swore he saw her roll her eyes.

"The participants who moved on to the Free Performance Round shall fight in a tournament system, being put in pairs. In the first and second round, they will be using one Pokémon in their performance. In the semi-finals, they will be using two Pokémon. In the final round, they will have to use at least three Pokémon. Whoever wins would get this special Princess Key," Here, she held up a platinum key with a pink heart-shaped jewel on it (most likely made of pink diamond) that had a tiara on it, making it look like the heart was wearing the tiara.

Everyone admire the beautiful Princess Key, as Aetna went on, "The Performer will also earn the right to challenge either Kalos Queen Aria or PAL Duchess Pakura. If the Performer wins against the chosen Judge, she will earn their title, and move on to challenge the other Judge. If the Performer wins against both of them, she can potentially have both titles to herself, and along with this tiara…" Here, a picture of an extremely beautiful tiara appeared. "She will earn the title of the Showcase Queen!"

"That's a tiara anyone would kill to have." Ash commented. "It's almost as elegant as the tiaras the PAL Princess gets."

"However, if the Performer were to win against the first Judge but lose to the second Judge, she will earn the title the first Judge had, but the second Judge would earn the title of Showcase Queen. If she were to lose to the first Judge, the first Judge would fight it out with the other to compete for the title of Showcase Queen." Aetna announced. "Now, let's start off the Interregional Showcase with an exhibition by Performer Pakura, who holds the title of PAL Duchess!"

Pakura walked to the center of the stage with the pink Butterfree, Milotic and Skitty, where she took out a gymnastics ribbon.

Butterfree started out with a Signal Beam and Milotic started off with an Aqua Tail, which surrounded Pakura and the Pokémon. Pakura jumped up, catching the Signal Beam with her ribbon, making it look colourful. As she twirled, the ribbon left colourful trails, which made it look even more amazing. Skitty jumped up on Pakura's shoulder and leapt off to fire an Ice Beam, creating an Ice structure which Pakura balanced on her toes at the top, giving a twirl around the ice structure.

"Milotic, Disarming Voice." Pakura commanded.

Pakura then leapt off the ice structure and did a forward flip just as Milotic hit it with Disarming Voice, which shattered into pink ice sparkles that rained down on the stage. The pink Butterfree caught her as soon as she finished her flip and Pakura tossed the ribbon to Skitty, who did a lovely dance and the rainbow trail just enhanced it. Skitty did a backflip and tossed the ribbon back to Pakura, who flew around the stage gracefully along with Milotic who was in the air thanks to Skitty's Psychic, and she grabbed hold of Skitty using her ribbon and threw her in the air.

Skitty did a playful chase the tail in the air, and as she fell, she was caught by Pakura's hand as the pink Butterfree let her go, allowing her to do forward flips simultaneously with Milotic who had fired an Ice Beam and Energy Ball combination with Butterfree, and right before they landed on the ground, Butterfree finished off with a Silver Wind, which hit the frozen Energy Balls, and causing sparkles to land all over them just as they hit the ground to strike a pose to declare the performance was done.

Everyone cheered at the beautiful performance put up by Pakura and her team, as they bowed to the audience.

"That was a wonderful performance put up by the PAL Duchess, Performer Pakura!" Aetna commented.

"Amazing…" Ash knew he had seen her performances before, but it never failed to amaze him as she always put up a different performance every time.

"Very wonderful, Performer Pakura and her team of Milotic, Butterfree and Skitty! And now, let's welcome our first Performers on stage, where they will be showing their bond with their Pokémon with a Poképuff baking, where the taste testers would be the Judges' Pokémon!" At that cue, three kitchen stations came out, filled with various ingredients, equipment and even all sorts of Berries for them to make their Poképuffs.

* * *

'And it got postponed to tomorrow because a Rockruff appeared out of nowhere and started to eat ingredients and Berries, making it somewhat contaminated.' Ash thought, as he left the performance hall. 'Well that would give the Performers one more day to practice, though they will change the theme so no one can cheat by practicing the skill that would be tested.'

Ash saw a glimpse of pink and black, and saw Pakura in a black shirt (that did not help conceal her chest size one bit) and a pink pleated skirt, with her hair accessories chasing down the Rockruff from earlier. It was apparent she wanted the Rockruff. Ash could not blame her as Rockruff was a rather cute Pokémon, and its appearance would especially be helpful in the Pokémon Styling segment due to its adorable looks.

He decided to follow her, since he had to warn her of the fact that they were the only ones left and that she might be the next target of the Dragon Duo. Ash had a feeling that the deeper he went into the forest, the more ominous it felt, though he did not know why, as Pakura was currently doing something any ordinary Trainer would do. However, he pushed the thought aside as he followed Pakura's aura, as he was falling behind since she is the fastest Elite member, and her speed naturally exceeds his.

By the time he reached Pakura, she had a Pokéball in her hand, and Skitty was celebrating the fact that she had caught Rockruff.

"We did it, Shiki!" Pakura held out her Pokéball. Ash frowned, as he did not sense anyone else's presence besides Pakura, but yet she was talking as if someone was there.

What horrified Ash the most was that he felt his Giratina's presence. He widened his eyes as he saw her take out a Cherish Ball that clearly contained Giratina, judging by the aura emitting from it.

'She was the one that stole Giratina?' Ash thought, and put the pieces together. She must have used her status as the Elite Leader and his most trusted companion to throw him off her trail. Her Scarlet Anger must have played a part in helping her establish an alibi!

"It was you all along?" Ash shouted, and Pakura turned.

Pakura stayed silent, before saying, "Took you long enough to find out, Ashura."

 **BP: (Questions are underlined). And that's the end of the chapter. Next chapter is their confrontation and an insight into Pakura's story (I promise it'll be different from the original). It can go either way, as both of them are very powerful aura users in their own way. Whether Ash can forgive and love her (even with her mental illness) remains to be seen.**

 **What do you think? Can he forgive her completely, considering she did technically betray him like his friends did six years ago? Are her actions in the story forgivable in your eyes? If yes, tell me why. If no, why not. I will take your reasoning into account and make the next chapter from there based on your reasoning. **

**Oh yeah, and I would like to announce that Core AI and I would be writing together once we finish our stories. If you don't mind, please visit the poll he has set up as I plan on doing a large Pokémon fic of Ash's journey from beginning to end and we are having trouble deciding the pairing. We would like to figure out which pairing to do, hence the poll.**

 **Note that one of the options in the poll is Ash x Pakura (Yes, it's your favourite RoyalShipping) and if this is chosen then Ash will be Pakura's first love (instead of Shiki as always). If you are a guest, do vote by reviewing and I shall bring the results back to Core AI myself.**

 **To confirm, I did give him permission to use the PAL Region and my OC Pakura. Do go vote in that poll as well. It might be a chance to ask for Ash to be Pakura's first love, or the request of Ash x Pakura x Cynthia, depends on what you want.**

 **I'm taking a break for PAL Chronicles and I will start writing PAL Chronicles once I post Chapter 3 of Heartsong Symphony and Chapter 13 of the Dark Chronicles, since I have a writer's block for that story. Also, fun fact: Mon Petit Cheri literally means "My Little Darling".**

 **So I noticed that Deadpool is popular among the readers due to its funny antics, but I hope to have someone from Capcom as well. Doesn't matter if it's a villain or a hero, I want someone who can balance out the two or somehow add to the funny antics the three may have when they are together. So please help me select the Capcom character. But here is the thing though: I recently have an idea that Ash and the Elites should not be human, since most of the cast of UMVC3 are not what you call normal (Well, except Phoenix Wright).**

 **So here is what I got so far:**

 **Ash: Half Angel, Half (?)**

 **Pakura/Amethyst: Half Loric (Cêpan), Half Demon**

 **Blaze: Half Vamp, Half Werewolf**

 **Jude: Undecided**

 **Phillip: Undecided**

 **If you have any species ideas (whether pure or hybrids) for any of them, do let me know. If you wish to see any changes in the species of those currently listed, you can let me know as well, since I am not very well-versed in the various species in books or movies or anime/manga.**

 **Also, for the Ashura Kurobane series, continue voting on whether Pakura and Amethyst should be two separate people, because it would be important if I wish to start on the story itself. Please check the poll for more details.**

 **Do favourite, follow and review!**


	13. Battle of the Princes, vs the Dragon Duo

**BP: Well, school has been treating me like crap as usual. I kind of stopped talking to my usual group of people….not that I care much actually. I mean, I won't have to hear them bringing up the past again and again, and other stuff like how they sound like they are dictating my life. They keep asking personal questions I won't even answer my PARENTS about, so what makes them think I'll tell them? They are making my business their business as if they have the right to. Who did they think they are and seriously, I hated it. But would they listen? Of course not.**

 **Also, I won't have to hear them telling me how I should date some old f-ugly infamous guy in our country, and how we "match" (They are seriously delusional). Let me tell you, this guy doesn't deserved to be called "kor kor" (dialect for elder brother). He should be called an uncle. An old uncle, to be more exact.**

 **I mean first of all, he like in his mid-forties already. Secondly, he singing sucks like hell, and he thinks he's handsome and cute, when it's the total opposite. He's a Youtube person, but let me tell you, you won't want to look at his videos. Trust me on that. I told my friend about him, and boy, was he disturbed. Told me he was terrifying.**

 **Oh, not to mention, he is looking for a girlfriend who is 18-22 years old and must be pretty. Erm….he's not even handsome, does he really think any woman with a sense of mind would even bother wasting time with him? And I have to endure my classmates recording me singing at karaoke and then edited the recording with his singing and call it our collaboration album.**

 **Not to mention the various pics they edited me in with him, and they posted it online on Instagram and a website they made themselves (although it's private). And they think I like singing, when I don't? Shows what they know about me. *rolls eyes* Yeah, goes to show those idiots have nothing better to do other than make jokes at my expense.**

 **Of course, and there is graduation to prepare for, contemplating on the courses I want for University. I have been studying Early Childhood, true, but it's mainly because my parents wanted it. When I mentioned my wish to not continue, my dad was like, "And you just wasted three years. Do you know 90% of the people out there are not working based on their own interest?" in this sarcastic tone. Well, excuse me, he was the one that made me choose the course, with the job opportunities over interest crap speech. Have I ever expressed interest in that course? Choose you strength over interest? Oh My God, this is why I am indecisive on my next path. It's comments like these that makes me unsure of my current choice.**

 **This Chapter is Pakura centric like Chapter 14 of the PAL Chronicles, but some, or rather at least half or her memories are totally different due to the inclusion of the Pokémon from the Alola region in her team, the acknowledgement of the existence of Scarlet Anger, and the fact that some information known by Shiki had changed as well. Furthermore, there is also the fact that Pakura travelled with Ash instead of being followed around by Rosaline.**

 **Warning: Some characters from other franchise will appear due to Pakura's uncontrollable Accidental Magic in the past (thanks to the Pakura Goldstein's ability to travel through time and dimensions, which is one of the reasons why she was considered a Goddess), allowing her to meet them in person. Other references would be made as well. Somebody just shoot me.**

"I never thought it would turn out to be like this, Paku." Ash shook his head at Pikachu and Lucario to tell them not to interfere no matter what because he had to finish this by his own hand. He whispered to them to find the cave where the Dragon Duo resided, and hide there.

"I was wondering when you'd come confront me." Pakura replied nonchalantly, looking Ash straight in the eye, not bothering to cloak her eyes in psychic illusion to make it seem like she still had her amethyst eyes.

Ash gritted his teeth when he saw her blood red eyes, which confirmed his suspicions. "You are the Leader of the Elite, and I trusted you the most after all. So why? Why would you, of all people, turn on your own members?"

"Why indeed?" Pakura mused. "Why don't you ask Shiki?" She indicated to Shiki who was standing next to her watching the conversation with amusement, though Ash only saw Pakura gesture to thin air.

"What are you going to do after you kill all our Elites? We'll have to find new ones if we do, and I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to find them." Ash shot her a look.

"Rosaline is disposable, and we both know it." Pakura yawned. "What use is she to the Elite, considering she nearly failed her missions all because she wants to try and keep the target alive?" Ash gritted his teeth, as he knew that Pakura's statement about Rosaline was true. Which Hunter would allow a target to run away and try to keep them alive for the matter?

"Paku, we are the rulers of the PAL Region, and within each of us flows the will of the previous rulers, but more importantly, their heart! And now, my heart tells me that I have to stop you right here, right now." Ash summoned various weapon, and equipped himself, prompting Pakura to do the same.

Pakura gave a cold laugh. "Unfortunately, our hearts are at odds, Ashura. After all, I need to finish what I started. That's the whole reason why I became the PAL Princess in the first place."

"And we're supposed to be best friends…" Ash said bitterly.

"Best friends, right..." The corner of Pakura's mouth twitched upwards in irony.

"What is going on?" Ash asked, knowing that she was the Paradinight daughter that everyone labelled as a Cursed Child, and the elusive Dragon Princess, one half of the Dragon Duo everyone was looking for. "Does it mean…"

"That you'll have to take me down to find out? I'd like to see you try." Pakura raised her brow. That was the last words said, as Ash shot a storm of crystal shuriken at her, which she nimbly dodged, causing them to be lodged at the tree behind her. She teleported when Ash fired a strong acidic mud flow towards her, which corroded some of the trees behind her.

Pakura sighed as a great deal of smoke is created by the effects of the acid, so even if Ash missed, he could attack while the target's vision remains obscured. She sensed Ash via aura, and intercepted his sword with her paper fan. She initiated her Wind Manipulation by creating a strong wind that blew Ash back and the throwing knife he was about to stab her with, and added some ice shards inside to make it more lethal.

'Ice?' Ash thought, as he shivered from the cold wind that she had sent towards him. 'So she was the one that killed the entire Blackthorn City Dragon Clan!'

As if she read his mind (Which she probably did), she said, "Yeah, it was me. I'm not in the least bit regretful of that, since those pigs did deserve it." Pakura shrugged. "What can you do about it?"

"This." Ash replied, and covered his fist in lava. He engaged her in hand-to-hand combat, and it was clear Pakura excelled in it and was faster than him, as Ash started to get cuts on his face and arms during the fight. When Ash managed to punch her through the stomach, Pakura coughed a bit of blood, but grinned as her eyes glowed very briefly, before Ash found himself with the same injury, and Pakura's injury disappeared.

'This is rather troublesome, if she has the ability to transfer injuries.' Ash thought. Pakura smiled, as she pressed her fingers at his forehead, and Ash found himself with an intense headache.

"I also have the ability to memorize the pain I've taken away via my healing ability and transfer them later." Pakura wagged her finger. "This was just part of the pain from the Pokémon I have healed."

"How fitting." Ash said sarcastically, as he activated a chain on his thumb, which wound around his stomach and healed the injury that Pakura had transferred to him. However, Pakura shot a barrage of energy blasts at him, which made him dodge, as he tried to use his ability to help take away the pain in his head so he could get back to the battle.

When Ash had healed, he created crystal shuriken infused with lava that increased its lethality, and shot them at Pakura with telekinesis. Pakura deflected them with her dagger, but found that Ash had also applied explosive properties as well, causing them to explode in her face.

'Did I get her?' Ash thought, but his question was answered when Pakura walked out with half her face burnt from the impact, and she regenerated in front of them. Seconds later, she was as good as new.

Ash promptly created multiple stone cubes the size of an extra-large exercise ball and shot them at Pakura. She dodged by doing a backflip and landed on one, though she jumped away quickly as she saw that the stone started to countdown from 3, and explode the moment the stone said, "1". However, another stone was shot towards her, and counted down again. She started to use her flight abilities to dodge the stone cubes that seemed to be attracted to her.

'I shall have to meet this attack head on.' Pakura thought, creating a huge shuriken that is infused with her wind abilities. She threw it at the stone cubes, which instantly tore it to shreds and producing a vortex in the immediate area. When Ash looked at the technique carefully, he realized that within the vortex had countless microscopic wind blades, so many that even his Enhanced Eyesight cannot register them all.

'If she hits a normal person with that, there won't be anything left for them to bury. It'll be like crumbling to dust.' Ash thought, as he conjured a magma snake out of the lava he had produced. Pakura responded by transmuting her aura in the form of a dragon, and shot it towards the incoming magma snake. When both of the attacks met, it created an explosion, and Ash realized that the transmuted dragon had split into hundreds of smaller ones, similar to Draco Meteor.

Ash shielded himself by creating a force field, which allowed the smaller aura dragons to bounce off harmlessly. He noted that the aura dragons were strong enough to pierce through several layers of ground and stone before dispersing.

When Ash dropped his shield, an arrow flew, aiming for his heart. He turned at the last second, and the arrow lodged into his left arm, and exploded, causing a burn around his arm. Ash hissed as he took out the arrow to check the severity of the wound, before healing it. Pakura took this chance to bombard Ash with shards of ice, some which he was able to dodge, while others damaged him. He touched Pakura, and a bomb appeared.

"Let's play a game, Paku. This bomb gets bigger every time a participant of the fight gets damaged, and ignites when it gets large enough. Let's see whose side it'd explode on. Just to let you know though, the bomb never exploded on my side." Ash explained.

"Maybe that perfect record of yours would be broken. Just like how you broke my winning streak when I started out as an Elite member." Pakura sneered. She proceeded to shoot telekinetic blasts at Ash, who dodged the lot of them before reaching her. Ash punched her in the stomach with an aura-infused punch, which caused her to stumble back.

Ash quickly created a copy of himself, who copied his flurry of kicks and sword strikes, before kicking her towards the tree. Pakura slammed against the tree, as she used telekinesis to steady herself. The bomb floated over to her, much bigger than the initial size when Ash summoned it.

"Warm-up's over." Pakura said, as she promptly took out a dagger which Ash recognized as the Dragon Blade, and he watched as Pakura extended it into a katana. She teleported to him as she struck eleven times before Ash was able to block her attack with his crystal sword that he infused with lava and explosive properties from his stone manipulation, and as both of them engaged in combat with their respective weapons, the bomb went over to each side and got even bigger as they sustained injuries.

When Ash stabbed Pakura in the lung and kicked her back, and even crushed her with a giant boulder he summoned, the extremely large bomb floated over to her side. Ash jumped back and formed a barrier around him as the bomb finally exploded. Ash made use of this chance to heal himself, but found that he couldn't, hence he simply covered his wounds with aura.

However, he found that the explosion was then engulfed with ice, and Pakura limped towards Ash. She regenerated herself again, and even her broken limbs were repaired.

Pakura threw an ice shard at Ash, who dodged, and as the ice spread, he was forced to protect himself with the force field once more. When he accidentally touched the ice, his right fingerless glove burnt away immediately, forcing him to remove them. Furthermore, he was left with a burn on his palm.

'She really mastered her Ice Manipulation well, if she can actually create and manipulate ice in absolute freezing temperatures, which would be capable of freezing the target with ice burns that are more severe than normal burns.' Ash thought.

He raised his arms, and launched them downwards, launching sharp rock shards from underground, prompting Pakura to dodge instead of attacking. Pakura was about to do so when no more rock shards were coming from underground, only to look up to see the rock shards were hovering above her. Ash pointed downwards, and the rock shards dropped down towards Pakura, burying her.

Ash was about to approach, when he sensed something, and he turned and blocked an incoming katana with a throwing knife.

"Always pay attention, Ashura." Pakura nodded in approval.

"How?" Ash narrowed his eyes.

"When you fired that rock shards from underground, I took the chance jump back and use it as a cover to create an illusion copy of myself, before turning invisible and concealing my presence following it up with Silent Steps, so you thought you were attacking the real me." Pakura answered. "But it looks like you sensed me in time."

Ash opened his jacket, which was lined with an impressive array of knives. He threw them at Pakura, which she dodged nimbly due to her speed. She sent a cyclone towards Ash, who took advantage of the tornado to increase the speed and power of the knife throwing, forcing Pakura to deflect them instead. Ash threw his sword at her, only for her to burn it with her icy flames, causing it to freeze and shatter.

'Crap.' Ash thought, as Pakura stomped her foot, causing the ground to shake. This forced Ash to jump up to dodge and Pakura decided to use her bow and arrows once more, shooting the arrows at Ash. He had no choice but to deflect the arrows with his sword, and good thing, as the arrows actually caught fire. Ash threw his crystal sword aside, before hastily crystallising her bow, and shattering the crystal (and subsequently the bow) into smithereens, rendering her arrows useless.

'At least it wasn't my best bow.' Pakura thought, teleporting her sheaths of arrows away. Only to be sliced at the collarbone by Ash with a crystal sword infused with lava, which gave her a nasty burn, and causing her to stumble back. Ash charged an energy bolt, and shot it at her, hitting her in the stomach. Ash made use of this chance to try and capture her with a chain in his middle finger, only for her to create an ice dome to deflect the chain.

'That chain actually shuts off aura and prevent the use of abilities. I better not be captured by that. I need to make it to Shiki, and use that life transference technique.' Pakura thought, as she healed herself from behind the ice dome. She ran out of the dome just as Ash mixed lava with explosive stone and there was a huge explosion that seemingly hit Pakura.

However, Ash coughed blood as the injuries were transferred to him and Pakura sliced at his chest with the katana. He was able to heal the injuries Pakura transferred to him, but not the one inflicted by the katana. At that moment, it hit him.

'The katana must have a special property that prevents healing abilities and either prevent or slow down a target's accelerated healing factor drastically.' Ash thought, as Pakura separated her katana into seven shorter swords, and catching them with various parts of her body.

'What the?' Ash thought as he saw that the first two blades are held in the hinge joint of her right and left arm, another between his shoulder blade and neck, one in her mouth, one under her left arm, another between the hip joint of her right raised leg and stomach and finally, one at the back of the right leg. Pakura hopped, and attacked him with the seven blades, as Ash attempted to conjure up two more crystal swords to block her attacks.

However, as they fought on, it was clear Pakura had the massive advantage, as Ash found himself getting sliced at various places and that her next attack was unpredictable as she could easily switch the location of the blades to attack him, leaving no openings. He dodged as Pakura attempted to kick his chin, only to be impaled by two of the blades flying at him, and being slashed with a cross pattern from her sword.

Ash took out the blades as he covered his wounds with aura, since the blades seemed to have prevented his healing ability. Pakura breathed wind-infused aura into the palm of her hand, shaping it into a small, whirlwind-like ball, before firing it at Ash.

Ash ducked, as the tree the attack hit was sliced cleanly, and had to meet it head on by surrounding himself in crystal particles, condensing them into numerous shuriken that continuously revolved around him as he launched them in high speeds to meet Pakura's attack. Ash spun the shuriken using telekinesis and shot it at the whirlwind-like ball, which not only countered it, but it went on to hit a surprised Pakura.

Ash got close to her to engage her in combat, and Pakura noticed the light reflecting off Ash's skin, indicating he covered himself with crystal armour to perform stronger physical attacks. Ash created growing thorn-like crystals to make it grow towards Pakura so that she would be pierced, only for her to switch places with him via teleportation, and Ash pierced by the technique instead. He healed the injury with the chain at his thumb, and Pakura retaliated with a cyclone of petals to attack Ash, who got blown off the feet as it turned out Pakura can actually direct it anywhere she likes. She then made use of the petals to circle around Ash, who gasped as she seemed to dissolve in the petals.

'I can't detect her because of the fact that the petals share her psychic power.' Ash thought, as he found himself getting beaten up by her, which forced him to a defensive. 'She really excels in both short range and long range fighting. Not to mention she never misses training like the others have been doing lately. Alright then, I'll have to resort to this.' Ash summoned a clock with arms.

'I never seen that before.' Pakura thought, as she damaged Ash with her aura punch, causing the clock arm to move once. 'There is no way I can read Ash's mind, considering his immunity to some psychic abilities, especially Mind Reading due to his Indomitable Will.'

"Enough." Ash said coldly, as he sent a deflective shockwave, which knocked Pakura back. Ash decided to force her to engage in hand-to-hand combat, landing a few clean hits on her this time and with his crystal armour, it actually left some bruises, which Pakura healed. Every time Ash took damage though, the clock arm moved once, and when Pakura used telekinesis to send a powerful shockwave to tear the trees part to fall on Ash, the clock arm reached its initial position and rang.

"Checkmate, Pakura." Ash announced as he threw the tree trunks aside, and showed Pakura his intense amount of aura.

'What the! Where was he hiding all that aura?' Pakura thought, before realization hits her. 'That clock! It was a medium to drastically increase his aura as he takes damage! This mean the more damage he took, the more aura he would gain!' She knew for once the Soul Dew was already increasing his aura powers and what is more, his abilities are far more powerful than the other three.

'I need to counter her abilities somehow.' Ash clutched to a broken piece of crystal. He felt warmth, and he saw that it was glowing red. He wondered what it meant, but he decided to use teleportation to get it to Pakura, and telekinesis to stab her in the arm with it. Pakura took it out, as blood flowed from her wound, and she tried to heal it, but something was wrong.

Her wound refused to heal. Both her psychic and aura abilities weren't working.

'Now the thing about aura is that when the user is in a pinch such as almost running out of aura, an ability or boost would be automatically granted or accessible, with the effects varying greatly from user to user.' Ash thought. 'My aura for instance allows me to absorb energy from damage taken and I put it all in one blow to annihilate my opponent when I'm in a bind. Come to think of it, I never saw Paku's take effect before.'

'Are you going to take this, my Chosen?' Giratina's voice was in her head. 'Come on, use my power to take him down!'

'I don't exactly want to kill Ash. I just need to resurrect Shiki.' Before Pakura could say anything more, she was surrounded by a massive build-up of spiritual energy, which activated her Scarlet Anger.

'Giratina must have taken control of her. It must have overwritten the effect of her aura when she's in a pinch.' Ash thought, as Pakura wordlessly summoned a demon-like creature to aid her in battle, who roared at Ash.

"Pretty or not, don't fuck with a princess." Pakura said tonelessly, as she sent the demon after Ash. Ash stopped the demon's punch with one arm and cloned himself to slice the demon's head off with his aura-infused sword. Pakura then proceeded to make use of her Scarlet Anger to open portals to summon multiple copies of demons of various shapes and sizes, which surprised Ash, but he had his eyes set on Pakura.

'It's most likely she is being controlled.' Ash thought, as Pakura sent the army at Ash, who started to get overwhelmed as he took them on.

Pakura started walking away, but Ash managed to defeat the army with one blow, which surprised her. Ash teleported to Pakura and sliced her stomach with his crystal sword, which she ignored, and she proceeded to exhale wind-infused aura onto her katana in order to increase its sharpness, range and lethality and clashed with Ash and his crystal sword. The two fought for dominance until Ash was stabbed, and Pakura's Laser Gun dropped to the ground. Ash stumbled back, as Pakura coughed out blood despite not being injured lethally.

'She must be feeling the side effect of Scarlet Anger without her Regenerative Healing Factor.' Ash thought, as he grabbed her and conjured crystal salts in Pakura's wound, and forced them into Pakura's red blood cells. Pakura began to hyperventilate, as extreme pain shot through her entire body-even though she was trained to resist pain it doesn't mean she can't feel it.

Pakura faltered back. "Ugh, not possible..." She gritted her teeth, as she was almost unable to control her limbs, and dropped her katana. Ash activated the hidden effect of his aura when he's in a pinch and used all the power to swing at her which she dodged but left her open when Ash stabbed her just below her chest, and violently flung her to the ground. Pakura looked ready to collapse at the power Ash put into the sword when stabbing her.

Ash gruesomely extracted his sword and sent her flying with his telekinesis, before throwing the katana at her in disgust for what she did to the other three Elite members. He saw her try to get up, but due to her slowed mental ability, thanks to his ability, her legs gave out.

'No use. Only I can remove the crystal particles from you.' Ash thought, as he approached her to take away the Cherish Ball, and sealed it in a crystal prison, much to Giratina's protests, but he ignored it. He saw her try to reach for something, and turned, as he thought she was reaching for her katana. Only to realize that her engagement ring had slid off her finger and she was trying to reach for it despite her limbs not responding.

Ash found himself staring from her point of view, trying to reach for the ring. He gasped when he saw Shiki standing in front of her with a sad look.

" _That was careless of you, Paku-chan."_ Shiki said with disapproval.

She struggled to reach her engagement ring, as her fingers inched closer and closer to the fallen ring. "Shiki….my…love, my…life, my….sanity."

'She must've valued Shiki more than her own life.' Ash felt a little saddened when he saw the scene before him, and as she grabbed the ring, her eyes lit up for a split second, most likely in happiness, before blacking out as Ash's ability finally took its toll on her. Ash shook his head as he found himself standing in front of Pakura, before crouching down to her, removing the crystals in her bloodstream.

'With that willpower, she could have taken the katana and attacked. Yet, the first thing she reached for was the ring.' Ash thought, carried Pakura bridal style, and back to the cave.

 **"Are you alright?"** Lucario looked relieved to see Ash alive.

"I'll be fine." Ash replied, as Sylveon and Skitty rushed over to their owner, checking on her. Both of them looked like they were about to burst into tears. "Let's go. We're going to get our answers to the mysteries that had haunted everyone, and put us in danger." Ash teleported everyone back to the twelfth floor living room, and also included the Pokéballs belonging to Phillip.

Ash took out his card key and unlocked the door, laying Pakura on the bed. "I'll try to get the other two to receive their answers as well." Ash informed them. "I doubt Rosaline is in any state of mind for me to use my psychic powers to contact her, and it may damage her further."

Everyone nodded, as Ash placed a hand on her forehead, trying to scan her mind with his psychic powers, and extend it to Jude and Phillip. Suddenly, Pakura opened her eyes, and it was glowing. When he looked into her eyes, he passed out.

* * *

Ash woke up to find that he was in some black space, along with Jude and Phillip, and their Pokémon were also not spared. He stood up and dusted himself off. He noted that their injuries were gone.

"What's going on, Ash?" Phillip was looking around. "Why are we here?"

"Where's Rosaline?" Jude frowned.

"I tried to scan Pakura's mind and extended it to the two of you." Ash explained. "But she opened her eyes, which was glowing, and when I looked into it, I passed out. I think those who looked into her eyes also fainted." He nodded towards his Pikachu and Lucario, along with Pakura's Sylveon and Skitty.

"You got her?" Phillip asked.

"It wasn't easy, trust me." Ash replied grimly.

"Well, well, look what we have here." A boy's voice said. Ash turned, as the voice sounded familiar from his dreams, and saw a boy was wearing a white shirt and a semi-casual black blazer, complete with black pants and tan boots. He had messy black hair and purple eyes and Ash immediately recognized him. It was Shiki, the Dragon Prince.

"You!" Ash exclaimed.

"Me." Shiki said calmly. "Hey, Sylveon." He petted Pakura's Sylveon, who recognized him and bounded to him, nuzzling her head against his hand.

"Where are we Shiki?" Jude asked.

"I thought you were dead." Ash added.

"You're in Pakura's mind. That answers your first question. As for the second statement, I'll explain how I'm here talking to you later. For now, you want to know how the mysteries are connected, right?" Shiki raised his brow, as everyone nodded.

"I will tell you, but I am warning you, there would be a price to be paid, as it's a close-guarded secret I'm about to reveal." Shiki went on. "Are you all willing to pay the price?"

"What's the price?" Phillip frowned.

"I'm not allowed to tell you. I'll only tell you once everything is revealed. So, yes or no?" Shiki smirked. The trio looked at each other, before finally nodding.

Shiki smiled. "Excellent. Anyway, I'll try to retrieve and review her real memories from the beginning, as her current memories are actually being distorted thanks to Scarlet Anger. It might take a while for me to tell you the entire tale, so please be patient."

 _They appeared what looked like to be a city, and Ash recognized it to be Blackthorn City around twenty one years ago. Jude thought some would be alarmed in seeing four people suddenly appear in the middle of the courtyard, but they just walked past them, doing their business, not alarmed in the least. In fact, no one noticed them. They were angry murmuring among the people, and Shiki gestured for them to listen to the conversation._

 _"She tainted the purity of the noble and ancient Dragon Clan…." One was saying._

 _"Yeah, why does she have to be born in the Dragon Clan?" Another muttered, anger evident in the voice._

 _"She's born from a one night stand, according to the Elders…" A third said._

 _"She's a thief! Anyone could have the gift of Dragon Mastery, but of all people, it was her!" A fourth grumbled. "She's not one of us! We need to take back that gift."_

 _"Let's hope she disappear from our sight soon. I can't stand to even see her in the streets one more time." A fifth cursed. "Glad I threw that rock at her. Boy, did she bleed."_

 _Ash clenched his fists as he heard the people say degrading comments. Just what had Pakura gone through in her hometown? He did not have time to dwell as Shiki rushed over to a house, where a woman (whom Ash recognized as Eris Paradinight) donning an expression that suggested that she was sniffing dung and an ugly hooked nose was unlocking the door, and entering the house. The house suggested that the family was well-to-do._

 _Eris hissed in anger and narrowed her eyes as she grabbed a bottle of wine from the cupboard, and gulped it down, sitting down at the dining table._ _"That thing shouldn't be born in the first place!" Eris muttered to herself. "I should have aborted her in the first place. Bane of my existence, she is. Now our family name is tainted thanks to her." She glared at the clock. "Wonder what that brat is doing?"_

 _Her mother stormed to the door, which was full of locks, and made use of the bunch of keys to unlock the locks. The room was completely bare, and it was full of rubbish and other unwanted stuff that people throw in through the bar grills at her, to show their contempt for her. There were dried blood splattered at the floor and walls, indicating she had been injured by some of the thrown items._

 _The woman saw a boy whom everyone recognized as a younger Shiki smiling and talking to a toddler through those bar grills._

 _"What are you doing, you brat?" Eris yelled. The toddler turned around, fear written in her eyes. Everyone realized that was Pakura as a little child. Everyone noted that with her huge amethyst eyes and long black hair, along with her habit of biting her thumb when she's frightened, made her exceptionally cute even for a child. She had a makeshift bandage wrapped on her head, and blood was seeping through it._

 _She was wearing a shirt that was too big for her, which made everyone sure it was cast offs from her family members. They were stained thanks to the food people throw at her through the bar grills due to her cursed birth and the blood that she shed when people threw rocks and even metal things, and her parents never bothered getting her new clothes or washing her clothes, just keeping her locked here 24/7._

" _Uh oh…" Pakura whimpered._

 _"My daughter isn't troubling you, is she, Shiki?" The woman asked in a sweet voice that did not hide the malice._

 _"No, not at all, Mrs. Paradinight, I was the one who initiated the conversation." Shiki shook his head frantically, hoping to get her out of trouble with her mother._

 _Eris chuckled darkly. "Did she ask you to lie for her? Oh dear, what a troublesome girl you are, Amethyst. You should know better than to ask people to cover for you when you're the one who is responsible. Don't want you to grow up a liar, now, do we? Don't worry, Shiki, I'll see to discipline her accordingly and she won't dare approach you again."_

 _With that remark, she roughly grabbed Pakura by her hair and dragged her to discipline her. Pakura simply looked at Shiki like a kicked Growlithe as her mother handled her without care, and Shiki shot her a distressed look._

Ash was outraged. No words can describe how horrible the people of Blackthorn were. How dare they treat a mere child like that! He heard his Pokémon making noises of discontent as well.

Jude and Phillip looked disgusted at the treatment.

"Believe it or not, that was how they treated her when she was in Blackthorn. No one liked her thanks to her birth." Shiki said. "I was curious, so I went to see for myself, to see that she was so cute, and I sort of fell in love with her at first sight. Couldn't help but talk to her. Makes me wonder how can someone that adorable be cursed? What drugs have the people been taking?"

"Agreed." Phillip nodded. "She looked like such a sweet thing."

* * *

 _"How dare you!" In the basement, Eris whipped Pakura with the cat o' nine tails whip, sending her to the ground with a cry. She had whip marks all over her body and due to the type of whip, it made even more marks and inflicted more pain._

 _"Who do you think you are, letting one of the prodigies of our noble Dragon Clan hear your filthy voice? You are nothing, you worthless and useless aberration!" With that, she whipped her face, causing her to hold her cheek as marks were left on her face._

" _W-Wait, I didn't call the boy over to talk, I…" She was cut off when Eris brutally slapped her o the mouth, causing her to cough out a bit of blood._

 _"Stop giving excuses. You're nothing but a liar and a cheat." The mother sneered. With that, she struck Pakura with the whip on the stomach sending her flying a few feet away, causing her to crash on the stone cold floor. Before she could even get up, her mother's hand swung out in a hard slap that caught her right across the cheek, and then a vicious backhand that reddened-and further injured-her already bleeding cheek, causing her to hit her head against the wall._

 _"You're nothing but a curse. Oh, what a stain to our name, you are." Eris muttered, whipping Pakura's face with the whip. Pakura hung her head with shame, giving her an apologetic look that would compel anyone to forgive her, though Ash was sure she wasn't going for that effect._

 _"Don't give me that look!" Her mother snapped, punching her in the stomach. "The damage is done the moment you're born. The more I think of this, the angrier I get! And you have the gall to talk to our favourite prodigy like you deserve it." Eris vented her anger on Pakura by whipping her with all the strength she could muster, this time on the legs, and was violently kicked in the stomach, causing her to hit the wall and slide down, winded._

 _Eris grabbed Pakura by her neck, and brought her back to her cell and roughly threw her in, slamming the door violently and locking them again. She left, muttering about useless children._

 _Pakura silently cried as she took in the whip marks, handprints and bruises that was seen all over her body, courtesy of her mother. What had she done wrong to incur her mother's wrath? Why won't she believe her? Wasn't she her child?_

 _Some of her wounds started bleeding just by applying a slight friction, and she used some of the old cloth that people had thrown in to try and stem the bleeding, as there was no first aid kit, and she doubted her mother would patch up her injuries._

 _She had the saddest look on her face with tears running down her face, as she picked up an old Usuki doll which seemed to be her only friend and companion. The doll must have been one of the objects someone didn't want anymore, and threw in from her bar grills as an insult._

 _She said to the doll, "Why do people call me the Cursed Child? I wonder if a witch came to curse my mummy before she have me. Oh dear, poor mummy." Despite being only a toddler, she was already capable of fluent speech that could match an adult, which was rather admirable. Ash wondered if she was born a genius as well._

" _Is mummy in pain? How do I help her? I love my mummy." The doll did not answer her, but Pakura went on, "I wonder why everybody look like they hate me so much. Did I do or say something wrong? Why won't they tell little old me? I'll understand."_

 _Pakura looked up as she heard familiar voices. Clutching to her Usuki doll, she placed her head near the floor where there was a gap at the bottom of the door to listen._

 _"The girl had the guts to talk to the heir of the Kurobane family! So rude of her. We take good care of her and she has her own room, and this is how she repays us?" Her mother was screeching to her family._

 _"Calm Eris. She'll be away from the prodigies of our clan soon." The man replied. "Our boss offered to take her away from our hands earlier. He promised she won't be trouble to have and we won't see her even if we go to work. He said it'd do him some service for their current project if we hand her over."_

 _"Great. Tell our boss we say yes. I can't stand to have her as a sister anymore. And she is not even my real sister!" A third voice said. "All my friends have been talking behind my back because of her. She ruined my social life! Right, Charon?"_

 _"I agree. We're better off without her." Charon answered. "Look at it this way: Our Dragon Clan would not have to deal with impurities anymore."_

 _Pakura lifted her head and crawled to the corner of the room, biting her lip, as more tears flowed. What had she done wrong?_

"Poor kid." Jude started crying, being the emotional one. Ash gritted his teeth. So this was the scandal behind the Blackthorn Dragon Clan. He thought of Lance and Clair, and he felt anger directed towards them. Why didn't they do anything to save the child, especially in their positions?

"If you like to know, though Eris is married, she isn't faithful to her husband. She goes around having sex behind her husband's back, one which left her pregnant with Paku-chan." Shiki sighed, scratching Sylveon on the ears. "I think she had been married seven times seven times before, and each of her husband died mysteriously and left her mounds of gold. Probably married her current husband out of money as well."

"So it's her slut mother who's at fault!" Ash was angered. "Why can't they see it?"

"Well, they have always been greedy, hypocritical pigs. Since she is wealthy, they consider her not to be at fault, especially if she pulled the 'He raped me' card." Shiki shrugged. "Their adherence to tradition is most likely a façade."

* * *

" _Really, Clair?" Shiki was arguing with Clair outside her cell. "You thought she deserved all she got? She didn't do a single thing."_

 _"Well, she's the Cursed Child. I say that is enough reason to hate her." Clair replied. "Elders said she doesn't deserve anything."_

 _"I have to disagree." Shiki replied. "I mean I went to see her the other day, and you wouldn't believe how adorable she is. She's so much more adorable than you were when you're a toddler, Clair."_

" _How dare you insult me?" Clair screamed. "I'm telling your mother that you went to see her, as that's against the Elders' rules, Shiki."_

 _"Yeah, they'll believe you when they see you throw this tantrum." Shiki said sarcastically. "I hope she is ok. I mean, she got in trouble because of me." He turned to look at her direction and Pakura ducked her head._

 _"Probably hiding and crying as usual. I mean, sometimes I do hear crying when I walk past that place." Clair commented. "Some baby she is, and she's supposed to be a Paradinight."_

 _"Clair, she is a toddler. She's technically one." Lance said quietly._

 _"Whatever, Lance." Clair scoffed. "Don't you dare go talk to her, Shiki. You shouldn't associate with some filth."_

 _"You can't really stop me, can you?" Shiki asked in a bored tone. "I will see her as I please. Besides, I think I'm in love when I first saw her."_

" _Shiki!" Clair sounded incredulous, while Lance was looking between the two, not sure whose side to take._

 _Shiki rolled his eyes. "The Elders really doted on you too much. You act like I have to listen to your orders. Really, Clair, you'll never be a real Dragon Master with that attitude. What do you think, Cousin Lance? Doesn't our cousin need to polish up on her attitude?"_

 _"Er…" Lance sounded unsure. Fortunately, a woman's voice was calling them for dinner._

 _"Let's go, it's dinnertime." Clair mumbled. "This is not over, Shiki."_

" _As if you complaining to them would help you with anything." Shiki replied._

 _Pakura frowned, as she held up her Usuki doll. "I don't want to end up like Clair." She mumbled._

 _Just then, the door unlocked and opened, and a teenage boy whom Ash recognized as Charon came in, carrying a tray of food. He had brown hair and though he had grey eyes, it was not the grey that someone from the PAL Region may sport. They're very pale, as if almost all the colour had been sucked out of them. The colour of slush that one may wish would melt away. The boy sneered at her fearful eyes._

 _"Hey, vermin. Why are you cowering like that? No one else is scared of the dark. Why are you? Some baby you are." Charon remarked nastily._

 _Pakura stayed quiet._

 _"Anyway, message for you. My parents want you to eat these. They say you have to eat them all." He practically threw the bowl at her, splattering some on her already filthy shirt, before leaving._

 _Pakura looked at the dinner. It was fish stew along with a cup of water. Pakura hugged and started eating, but didn't like the sliminess of the stew, as she had to swallow three times before it really goes down. She downed the glass of water, and sighed in relief at her full stomach._

 _However, a few minutes later, she felt dizzy. Not the slightly wobbly kind, but the kind that sent the room spinning and the floor to move in waves under her feet._

 _"W-What's happening?" Pakura asked, but there was no answer. She sat down to try and ease the dizziness in her head, but to no avail. Eventually, she fell unconscious, clutching to the old Usuki doll._

 _The door opened, and a man in a business suit walked in, along with Pakura's family. Ash gasped as he recognized him as a younger Giovanni._

 _"So that's her?" Giovanni asked, turning to the parents. "This is what you want to offer for our aura project?"_

 _"That's right. Please take our daughter. She's sure to help out with your project well and for the expansion and conquest of Team Rocket! All for Boss Giovanni's sake!" The family saluted the Boss._

 _"Thank you for providing something perfect for us." Giovanni replied, nodding his head in approval. "Very well then. Take her away." Two of the Team Rocket Grunts came into the room, grabbed an unconscious Pakura, and carried her to the Team Rocket van. The Usuki doll fell from her limp hand, and was flattened by the van as it ran over the doll._

 _Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by a pair of resentful purple eyes. The figure came out to the road, and picked up the crushed doll, before walking away, anger clear in its eyes._

 _"Good work, all of you. You'll be rewarded for giving me another chance to create the ultimate weapon." Giovanni praised._

 **"The food must've contained drugs, so that she'd be easier to take away."** Pikachu whispered, distraught. **"Otherwise, they won't bother to provide her a full meal."**

"How do you think I felt when I watched them take her away? This is the reason why she hates it when people take their families for granted, and probably one of the reasons why she hated Rosaline a lot, since Rosaline like to flaunt her high class life along with the fact that she had a family." Shiki replied, rolling his eyes, though he had seen it before. Jude and Phillip looked guilty.

"I can't believe this…." Ash looked away at the sweet child that was Pakura's past self. "They are such monsters!"

* * *

 _Pakura groaned as she opened her eyes, and sat up to find herself in some cell that was quite small- three feet by three feet. She knew this wasn't the cell her family had locked her in, as it was a lot cleaner, and it didn't have a window._

 _Her eyes widened in fear. Where is she? What is she doing here? How did she get here? Where're her parents?_

 _The door unlocked and opened, and Giovanni walked in. He smirked when he saw that Pakura was awake._

"So, _you're awake." Giovanni said casually._

 _Pakura gulped, before asking. "Who are you? And why am I here?"_

 _Giovanni nodded in approval. "Fluent speech for a kid your age. That'll make you even more useful. My name is Giovanni, and I am the boss of Team Rocket. Your parents gave you to me for free for a project you're will be a part of."_

 _Pakura frowned. She didn't like the sound of it. "My mummy and daddy won't give me away! They love me!"_

 _Giovanni laughed, coldly, dismissively. "Oh really? They gave you to me, saying you'd be useful in our project. In fact, they gave you food that was drugged so you wouldn't resist when I come for you."_

 _Pakura took a step back away from the man, shaking her head. "No, it can't be. They love me."_

" _Keep telling yourself that, Cursed Child. Blackthorn doesn't want you. They crossed your name off the list of members of the Dragon Clan." Giovanni waved his hand dismissively. "You belong to us now. You're Team Rocket's property."_

 _A sheen of sweat appeared on Pakura's forehead as she tried to work an answer to counter Giovanni's argument. "All adults love their children. I'm sure it includes my parents. They-"_

" _Well, keep telling yourself that, Cursed Child." Giovanni said scathingly. "Let's see if your parents love you enough to get you out of here to save you from us. We'll start the project tomorrow." With that, he left the room and locked her up, leaving Pakura to think if her parents really abandoned her and sold her to Team Rocket._

Jude was appalled. "How could they do this to a child? A CHILD! She doesn't even look like she reached five."

"Poor Pakura…" Phillip winced.

"You're talking about an organization that does experiments on Pokémon without care of their well-being." Shiki replied. "The ones that treat Pokémon as their tools to be used to take over the world."

"And she was one of the many victims…." Ash answered quietly, and Shiki nodded his confirmation.

* * *

 _"How's the progress going, Dr. Namba, Professor Sebastian and Dr. Zager?" Giovanni asked his three best scientists. All of them are looking at the tube that contained Pakura, and monitoring her via a monitor that showed her information and current status. She was floating in some liquid and was apparently in oblivion state, as her eyes were closed and she provided no resistance. Furthermore, an oxygen mask was placed over the lower half of her face to ensure that she can breathe._

 _"Great, Boss Giovanni." Dr. Namba replied, looking at the monitor. "The weapon is developing nicely. We have gotten our hands on Pakura Goldstein's DNA and we injected her with it. Furthermore, we have found an unknown DNA that we had scanned, and believed to have belonged to a very powerful psychic and had hints of Phoenix power in it. We injected her with that as well while making use of the machines to force her to retaining her own DNA while being taken over by the other two, and she surprisingly survived._

" _According to the monitor and data collected, she will retain her own DNA alright, but hopefully she might be able to replicate the aura abilities of Pakura Goldstein and the psychic and slight phoenix abilities of the unknown individual once we're done with the entire experiment." Professor Sebastian added. "She might also have immunity to psychic abilities."_

 _"I suggest experimenting on her every now and then instead of doing everything at once, lest we kill this child, and put all our efforts to waste. After all, she is the first to survive the first onslaught." Dr. Zager said. "She could be our key to eliminate the pesky aura and psychic users that the other side have." They knew that some people who interfere with their projects could wield aura and psychic abilities, which made it difficult for them to counter. But all this would change._

 _"Yes, she will be a valuable weapon." Professor Sebastian agreed. "As we only have one chance, I suggest when we are not experimenting on her, we make sure she has other attributes so she won't be taken down easily. After all, she is not trained."_

 _"Very well. I'll leave it up to you three to forcefully build and bring out her other attributes so she wouldn't be taken down by the other aura users or psychics." Giovanni nodded in approval. "My grunts would be at your disposal to help out."_

" _Thank you, Boss Giovanni. You're too kind." The three saluted._

"So, she was never born with aura?" Ash asked.

"No, unless you count the fact that she unconsciously use aura when she battles with Dragon Pokémon. That ability appears in one person for every generation, and enabled her to uncannily improve in Dragon Training with every battle. However, it's useless in actual combat." Shiki answered. "But yes, she was actually not born with the gift to use aura despite being considered a genius, it was given to her via the experiment."

The Pokémon looked like they wanted to hurl, Jude looked horrified, Phillip looked mad, and Ash grimaced at the information.

"Oh, for your information, the unknown DNA they were talking about was from the fourth Princess of PAL." Shiki informed them.

"What's her real name?" Jude asked.

"Her real name is known only to those who become the ruler of the PAL Region, and even they are not supposed to tell. We only know her as Hestia, her alias. She's renowned for her extremely powerful psychic abilities." Phillip explained.

"Oh yeah, her prophetic abilities also allowed her to be highly esteemed by the most powerful people around the world. She's one of the most powerful psychics in the entire world, if not the universe." Shiki added. "I heard she can harness the power of the Phoenix. She can also manipulate cosmic flames very well, and they don't need oxygen to burn, unlike Rosaline's."

'Her real name is Phönix Hahn Blackburn, but only Shiki, Paku and I currently know her real name.' Ash thought, but merely asked, "You mean those cosmic flames that can incinerate planets that used to bathe a planet in their cosmic radiance and give it new life?"

Phillip nodded. "Yeah, she is one of the strongest and most powerful people in the PAL Region who ever lived. She has really great control over her infinitely powerful abilities. There was a rumour that she can manipulate the universe in her palm if she wanted to. I heard when she tapped into her Phoenix powers."

"Everyone worshipped her as a Goddess, as she was able to control and wield the boundless and unlimited powers of the Phoenix, and she can summon a giant phoenix with energy blasts for attacks using one of her Guardian ÄRMs. No surprise she was the longest reigning Princess." Shiki added.

"But Phoenixes are supposed to resurrect themselves after death, right?" Jude asked.

Shiki nodded in agreement. "Yes, that is why everyone believed her to be alive although she had left her position. I heard she sealed her soul in what they call the Princess Orb, and if one solves the riddle, they'd be granted great psychic powers and the power of the Phoenix. I'm pretty sure she settled down and married Sir Aaron…"

"Wait, what?" Ash was surprised.

"It's all in _Rota: A History_ , Ash." Shiki shook his head. "You're supposed to be their descendant, the one to harness all their abilities someday. Come on, we can discuss this later."

* * *

 _Pakura was walking in the clothes they gave her. It was a drab grey, and too loose for her, hence why she had to roll up the sleeves so that it won't be dragging around the floor. She hated how thin it was, as a slight friction may cause the fabric to tear. As she walked past a door, she heard a familiar voice, and peeked in._

 _In the room, a woman was talking to what looked like a Team Rocket Admin, and she widened her eyes as she recognized her as her mother._

 _"Mummy?" Pakura called out, going over to tug at her coat._

 _"I didn't know you have a daughter, Eris." The admin commented, raising her eyebrows at the adorable girl._

 _"What, of course not!" Eris denied coldly. "You're no daughter of mine!" She roughly pushed Pakura to the ground, and she looked at her mother with a sad and puzzled expression. "Don't come near me or my family, you worthless child!" She dusted her coat like it had some disease on it now she had touched it._

 _"But mummy, you love me don't you?" Pakura tilted her head innocently._

 _"Love you?" Eris laughed. "I never did, brat! You were born from someone other than my husband, which doesn't make you a full-fledged Dragon Clan member! You tainted our family name, and for that I would not have such filth in my house." She called for two grunts, and ordered, "Take her away. It's time for her to learn to be a good little weapon for Team Rocket."_

 _Pakura clutched to her mother. "Please Mummy! Please don't let the bad guys take me away!"_

 _"Don't touch me with your filthy hands! And you deserve it!" Her mother said harshly, pushing her to the Team Rocket Grunts, and the force was enough to knock her out. The said grunts dragged her to another room filled with frightening looking devices that looked to be made for torture._

 _Pakura was tied to a chair, and after that, one of the grunts took a bucket of icy cold water with chunks of ice and dumped it on her head. Pakura spluttered and coughed, shivering from the icy cold water and winced at the pain of the ice hitting her head._

 _One of the grunts punched her on the face hard, causing her to cough blood out to the ground. For tainting the ground with her blood, she got another punch, causing her to cry out._

 _"What's wrong, kid? Aren't you going to call for your mummy to save you?" One grunt sneered._

 _Pakura stayed silent, as she remembered what her mother had said to her earlier when she went for her._

 _"Well, whatever. I could care less. Professor Sebastian said it's time for you to learn." The second grunt said, nodding to the first grunt, who grabbed her hair, and dunked her head under the bucket of water. There was struggling and gurgling noises, and after 3 minutes, her head was pulled out again, and she was coughing out water and trying to get some oxygen._

 _"Now, then, Magneton, use Electric Terrain followed by Zap Cannon!" The grunt sent out the Magnet Pokémon and performed Electric Terrain, and shot a full power Zap Cannon at a soaked Pakura. When the attack hit, she was electrocuted, causing her to scream in pain. The effects of Zap Cannon lasted for five whole minutes before it dissipated, and she hung her head, panting._

 _"Opps, did I mention that Professor Sebastian said you are not to scream when you are hit? You'll be punished for ever second you scream." The grunt said in a false cheerful voice. By his tone, he had withheld that info on purpose. "Harlan, how long did she scream?" The grunt asked._

 _"All three hundred seconds. Hit her once with every second she had screamed if you would please." Harlan replied, nodding towards the tools in the chamber. "Just use any tool you want in here, but don't kill her. If she screams during the punishment, hit her even harder. A weapon should not show emotions, they say."_

 _The grunt grinned at the prospect of punishing the girl, and picked out a multi-tailed whip, and attached to the end were little metal balls with spikes. Pakura gulped as the man raised the whip, and lashed out at her, leaving her with parallel whip marks, bleeding wounds and dark bruises that was sure to be there for days._

 _For the first time, Pakura narrowed her eyes._

Jude started crying at the torture, while Phillip was extremely shell-shocked. Ash wished he could go over to save that young girl, but they knew no one could hear or see them since it was a memory and they were just viewing it.

"W-Was this how…?" Phillip couldn't finish his sentence.

"How she was able to endure large amounts of electricity? Bingo. She was soaked thoroughly, sometimes nearly drowning her, and then electrocuted because water lowers the resistance of the body, hence making it much easier to electrocute. Furthermore, they would use Electric Terrain to increase the power of the Electric-type moves. She was exposed to almost every single Electric-type moves that was known to them during her time in the base. Besides the usage of Pokémon, they have other devices such as the electric chair where they can control the voltage for training and punishment purposes. They increase the voltage and the number of Electric type moves they hit her with, and not to mention use more powerful moves in order to make her the strongest weapon." Shiki explained. "Because of this regular soaking in water before electrocuting, she became Aqua-phobic, but to a certain extent, and she can't swim at all."

Ash thought about the battle with Malva, where she called for a Rain Dance, and Sylveon had used Protect. Now he realized why she had used the move on herself. It was because of her fear of water.

"I doubt it ends there." Phillip muttered angrily.

"Yeah….unfortunately, it doesn't." Shiki replied. With that, he changed the scene around them.

* * *

 _An slightly older Pakura, no older than 5, was making her way to the dining hall along with two grunts that is to make sure she doesn't try to escape when not confined to her cell. Her body and face was full of bruises, scars, scabs and burns thank to their training. Ash had the impression of a battle worn child when he saw her. The expression on her face was more forbidding, apparently trained not to show emotions, as weapons are not supposed to show emotions._

 _Pakura slid her tray along the metal shelf before the vats of food, and breakfast was placed on her tray._

 _People see her, and whisper among themselves, wondering why she would be out here instead of at her place in the cell, where she should be. There were also the comments on how weapons should be stored and locked up all the time and only let out to be used. It was clear they thought she never needed to eat or drink as they did not see her as a human being._

 _To an extent, maybe that was true, as she was only fed once a month. She survived by drinking water, which was all she needed by that time, as if she ate any more, it might get back up again._

 _She silently made her way to a table, sat down and munched on her food slowly. Suddenly she choked, and dropped her spoon, as she felt her throat was burning. The members of Team Rocket simply watched as she convulsed to the ground and foamed on the mouth. They watched for three minutes before injecting the antidote, and she finally gained control of her nerves, panting as she laid on the ground._

 _One of the grunts took out a notebook, and wrote something down. "Our orders are that you'll be trained to endure different types of poison. That was just the beginning. We'll be bringing in all_ _the different types of poison which you will consume or breathe in and Poison moves from Pokémon, and see how long you last before needing the antidote. Punishment would be given if you don't meet the time requirement."_

 _"Would I be told about the time requirement?" Pakura panted, as she wiped the foam off the corner of her mouth and struggled to stand up._

 _"Nope, that way you won't cheat. It'll be kept a secret from you." The Grunt grinned._

"Now you know why she is immune to all sorts of poison. After all, they needed a weapon that is hard to destroy by aura users and psychics, hence the training." Shiki said to everyone with disgust in his voice. Everyone was stunned at the scene. How could they subject a child to such lethal poison such as cyanide?

* * *

 _A six-year-old Pakura coughed out blood as she got beaten up by various members of Team Rocket and their Pokémon to increase her endurance. What was more, the grunts were wearing some sort of amour to increase the damage of their punches, while she had no defensive equipment whatsoever. If she screamed, it would mean that she had failed to endure their attacks and she'd be punished accordingly._

 _Pakura gritted her teeth as one of them managed to knock her front baby teeth out, causing her to spit out more blood. She got kicked in the stomach, and hit the wall, though she got up immediately._

 _"That'd be all for today." Dr. Zager said, scribbling his observations. "Take her back to her cell."_

 _Pakura was dragged limply by the grunts. Her body was full of fresh wounds and injuries that had not healed from the previous training, and her body was so mutilated that she was unable to move. She was thrown roughly into the cell once more, and the doors locked._

 _"I wish I had something to help with my wounds. They never heal my wounds saying I needed to endure the pain." Pakura tentatively moved her fingers, and winced as it brought excruciating pain. She knew she had cracked ribs, broken bones, and a deep bleeding cut around her neck in addition to her multiple injuries she got from her previous torture. "I need to stay alive….from my revenge…" The hate was subtle, but there._

 _As if responding to her wishes, she gasped as her wounds stopped bleeding, and slowly started to heal, her bruises started to disappear and bones started to repair itself, and even scars from her previous torture had disappeared. Eventually, she looked like she never been through any torture at all._

 _Pakura breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that all her wounds had disappeared. "Looks like I can survive this after all."_

"So Regenerative Healing Factor was her first ability…" Ash commented.

"Well, believe it or not, she never had any offensive ability." Shiki shrugged. "That ability saved her life and that was how she survived."

* * *

 _Pakura was trying to practice throwing knives. She threw one of the knives which was almost bigger than her hand, and she could barely hold it, let alone throw it. She missed the target by several feet, as she could not throw the knife all the way to the target in the first place. She slumped to the ground with a huff._

 _She was already tired from the early morning stretching they made her do, hours of strengthening exercise skills and a five mile run that she had to complete within a certain timing, or else it's punishment for her-that can kill her._

 _"Missed again?" A curt voice said. Pakura widened her eyes, and turned to see Professor Sebastian frowning in disapproval. "_ You know what that means, right?" _With that, she found herself with a single knife and a Team Rocket grunt wielding an axe that was 5 times bigger than her own weapon that she could barely even wield._

 _"I recommend you to fight back." Professor Sebastian smirked, as Pakura began trying to dodge the axe, or else she'd get chopped up in an instant._

 _Pakura cried out in pain, as the axe broke her wrist when she tried to block it, and Professor Sebastian announced that's one more punishment she'd have to endure for expressing pain._

"Much as I hate to admit it, she's like being sent to a military camp. Either she gets the target or she gets to do more hand-to-hand combat and practice her dodging skills as punishment. As she was already tired from the earlier exercises, she'd be injured quite often." Shiki frowned. "After all, Team Rocket wanted a weapon that can fight and came up with this program, and though I disapprove, it is effective. That was how she was trained."

"Is that why she's good at using all sorts of weapons?" Ash remembered Pakura being able to wield most of the weapons in the gym, and being the best in hand-to-hand combat.

Shiki nodded to answer Ash's questions, and changed the scene.

* * *

 _"You know what I want, right, my weapon?" Giovanni was leading an 8-year-old Pakura to her next "training"._

 _"Yes, I get it. I'm Team Rocket's weapon, and I am to be used by Team Rocket only. Please use me as a tool that does as you wish." Pakura replied in a monotonous voice the words she had been taught for a long time. She had learnt the hard way that if she said or pronounced even one word wrong, she'd get punished again._

 _"Very good." Giovanni smirked. "Remember, your loyalty is to us only." With that, she was conducted to a room with a table, where Team Rocket grunts came to hold her down and strap her to the table._

" _Administer the mark." Giovanni ordered. A grunt took a red hot poker that had the insignia of Team Rocket on it, and pressed it hard onto Pakura's left upper arm. Pakura struggled and thrashed as the mark was burnt onto her arm._

" _And with this, we have marked the weapon as our property. Please see to her next training." Giovanni said. One of the Team Rocket Grunts untied and grabbed her, tying her to a chair, and send out his Venomoth._

 _"Venomoth, Sleep Powder!" Pakura struggled to keep awake as Venomoth kept scattering Sleep Powder all over her, hoping to make her fall asleep, and she knew she would be punished if she gave in to the effects. After a minute, she fell asleep. The grunt frowned, grabbed Pakura's head, and dunked her head in a pail full of water for three minutes, which woke her up and caused her to struggle to get some oxygen, before letting her out._

" _Electivire, Electric Terrain, followed by Electroweb." The grunt ordered coldly, as he sent out Galvantula, who created the Electric Terrain before trapping Pakura in an electric web that wrapped around her and electrocuted her. This time, however, she merely gritted her teeth._

 _"A minute is such a disappointment. Any Grass type Pokémon can do that. I expected two minutes." The grunt said. He threw her a small knife, which she used to cut the ropes, and he was now wielding a sword that was at least five times bigger than the puny knife he gave her. "You know what happens next, right?"_

 _Pakura sighed as she readied her knife. Both of them charged at each other with their respective weapons, and due to the size of their weapons, Pakura was disarmed and her knife was destroyed in less than a minute. She managed to dodge for a few minutes before growing tired, and she was eventually sliced up by the sword, blood staining both the floor and the sword._

"Erm…his logic is so off. Grass type Pokémon are immune to Sleep Powder." Phillip pointed out.

"Oh, I'm sure they know, but then again, when would they tell the truth? They trained her based on lies and deceit. They'd do anything to make sure she strives to be stronger." Shiki answered, anger in his voice. "This was how they made sure she had Psychic Shields, so no psychic can interrogate her or extract information from her about Team Rocket. They value themselves more than her life."

* * *

 _An older Pakura, at least 10 years old, was trembling in fear in the sewer, her flashlight in hand. By this time, her fringe had grown beyond her eyes, so no one could really see her expression at the moment, but judging by the shaking, she was probably scared. No one could blame her, as it was in a really dark sewer and she had nothing but her flashlight._

 _It was apparent that her flashlight was used to check the tunnels and darkened areas, and ward away Pokémon such as Muk and others that like to lurk in this place, but had limited battery life. Hence, she had to listen out for Pokémon's breathing or footsteps and if she saw them, she can turn on the flashlight to make them go away, and if they don't, she must hurry to another safety area, lest they attack her._

" _Please let me out. Please! Just let me out..." Pakura trembled, praying someone would get her out soon, as she was scared of what might get her if she were careless. She had been in here for an entire day, and she was tired and wished to rest._

 _Just then, the sewer entrance opened from above, and two grunts jumped in. Seeing their weapon, they forcibly handcuffed and blindfolded her, and took her away, as the "training" had ended and they are to take her back to the Headquarters. A muffled noise indicated Pakura may be sobbing in fear, as they threw her into the van._

 _Unknown to everyone, a boy who was riding a Charizard had seen them coming out of the sewer, and was now following them, as he had seen a girl being taken by them and recognized the girl by the conversation the Team Rocket members were having. They had led the boy to one of the Team Rocket Headquarters, and the boy landed as soon as he was sure no one had seen him. Ash recognized the boy as a younger Shiki._

 _Shiki let out his Gallade and Espeon and returned his Charizard._

" _Espeon, Gallade, use Psychic." He pointed to the guards, and their eyes glowed, knowing them out. Shiki rushed over to get their clothes, and disguised himself as a Team Rocket Grunt._

" _Gallade, destroy the door with Psycho Cut." Shiki commanded, and the Psycho Cut destroyed the door, causing explosions. When the Team Rocket grunts tried to get Shiki to prevent him from infiltrating, he simply asked Espeon to attack Confusion._

 _"What's going on?" A guard shouted, as he had heard explosions occurred from above their floor. There were three guards with guns standing in front of a door, probably guarding whatever that was inside. With them were an Arbok, a Golbat and a Toxicroak. However, before anyone could respond, the door in front of them burst open, and Shiki came in with his Espeon and Gallade_

 _"Oh, it's just you." The second grunt said in relief as he saw the Team Rocket uniform of a fellow member. "Do you know what happened upstairs?"_

 _Shiki stayed silent, and just kept looking at the ground._

 _"Did something happen?" The third guard asked. "You look like something bad had happened."_

 _"Is Boss Giovanni okay?" The first guard sounded worried. "Is that why you're looking so grim?"_

 _Shiki's head went up to face them. "Oh yes, Giovanni managed to escape. But it'll be the last thing you'll ever know." He was smirking, as he knew the girl wasn't far from him._

 _"You-!" He was cut off when Shiki sliced his throat, and the other two opened fire, while ordering their Pokémon to attack._

 _"Psychic!" Shiki commanded. The Pokémon's attacks and the bullets stopped in mid-air, and it was sent back to the senders, causing them to run. Only to run into Shiki himself._

 _"Where do you think you're going?" Shiki asked._

 _The grunts barely had time to react, before Shiki threw an axe at one grunt's head, and grabbed the other by the throat and smashed his head against the wall repeatedly, causing his skull to crack, before Shiki dropped him with disgust. Meanwhile, Espeon took on all the Pokémon, while Gallade searched the guards, and passed Shiki a set of keys._

 _Shiki nodded his thanks as he used a key to open the door, only to find another door behind it. Shiki seemed unfazed, used a second key to unlock it, only to find a third door behind it._

 _"Well, it looks like this weapon of theirs are under heavy lock." Shiki commented. "It must've been a successful experiment if the security was any indication." His Pokémon nodded, as Shiki unlocked 9 doors before he unlocked the last door, to reveal a really cramped cell. Sure enough, Pakura was unconscious in the middle of the floor, and Shiki crouched down to check on her._

 _"I finally found you." Shiki whispered, sounding rather happy, as he gathered her up, and wrapped her in a blanket before carrying her bridal style. "Gallade, could you get Charizard's Pokéball out for me?"_

 _Gallade nodded, and did as it was told, and let Charizard out. Charizard materialized, and looked around, puzzled, until he saw his Trainer._

 _"You can't take that weapon away from us!" A voice shouted. Shiki turned to see five more grunts. Shiki shook his head, and used telekinesis to tear them apart. All of them died instantly except for one, who said feebly, "Giovanni had funded so much for this project and our three best scientists spent 10 years perfecting it. We can't lose her now, she belongs to us."_

" _She's not some property that you can claim." Shiki said coldly. "If you want a human weapon so much, then…." Shiki used telekinesis to strap a time bomb on him. "You would make a perfect one. Charizard, we're getting out of here." He nodded his head towards Pakura in his arms, as he returned Gallade and Espeon._

 _Charizard grunted in acknowledgment, as Shiki climbed on his back, and used Hyper Beam to destroy the ceiling, before flying into the sky. They were just in time as well, as the entire Team Rocket Headquarters exploded, no doubt killing everyone inside._

" _Nailed it." Shiki smirked, as Charizard flew away._

"You were the one that rescued her?" Ash was surprised.

"I learnt how to use aura by that time. I unlocked mine when an aura user hit me with an aura-infused punch, and my body received that aura, allowing me to unlock my own potential." Shiki explained.

"Like me?" Ash pointed to himself, and Shiki nodded.

"I practiced and developed my abilities for months, since I'm no aura genius, unlike some people who can discover and learn to manipulate their aura on their own without having formally learned it. When I mastered it, I tracked her down using aura, and of course, I found her easily despite the Headquarters being large." Shiki went on.

"Is it like Rosaline being born with psychic powers?" Jude asked.

"No…I have never seen someone born with psychic powers weaker than she is. I mean, neither Paku-chan nor I were born with them, and we're way stronger than her…and I'm really lowballing it. Seems to me she is complacent and never trained, believing that people would never amount to the ones with the natural gift." Shiki rolled his eyes, as he changed the scene.

* * *

 _Pakura opened her eyes, and found herself in a sleeping bag in a tent. There was an aroma, and it turned out a strange boy was at the pot making something. Pakura backed away from the boy, wondering if it's yet another "training" from the Team Rocket course. However, she must have made some noise, as Shiki turned around._

 _"Hey, you're awake!" Shiki smiled at her. Pakura did not smile back, instead backing away from Shiki further. Just who is the boy in front of her and why is he acting friendly? Was he another one of the grunts assigned to her training? She looked like she wanted to cry as she let her fringe cover her face._

 _"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you. Don't be afraid." Shiki smiled. "My name is Shiki Kurobane. It's nice to meet you." Shiki held out his hand. Pakura looked down at the hand, as if expecting Shiki to raise it and slap her, causing her to cower in fear._

 _"You're frightened." Shiki stated. That statement caused Pakura to tilt her head._

 _"You're hungry, aren't you?" Shiki asked gently. Pakura kept quiet, which Shiki assumed to be a yes. "Lunch is almost done. Just wait here." With that, he returned to the pot, and ladled something into two bowls, and placed the bowls onto a tray._

" _Here." Shiki put the tray on her thighs, and handed her chopsticks and a spoon. Pakura looked down at the bowl of handmade udon noodles with steamed vegetable dumplings and meatballs. She tentatively nibbled at the noodles, expecting to collapse of poison any time soon._

 _Shiki smiled as he watched her consume the udon noodles, as Pakura showed signs of surprise when she hadn't collapsed from ingesting poison. In fact, she did not detect any poison in the food at all._

 _"Glad you liked it." Shiki grinned, and Pakura fidgeted uncomfortably as she looked around. "Don't worry. They won't come for you. Not if I have anything to say about it."_

 _Pakura looked at Shiki, before looking away._

 _"Do you have a name?" Shiki went on to ask._

 _"They call me the weapon." Pakura answered, which caused Shiki to narrow his eyes._

 _"That is not a name." Shiki retorted as Pakura whimpered, thinking Shiki would punish her._

" _Is this what they call you?" Shiki's voice softened at her obvious fear._

 _She nodded frantically, hoping she'd get out of punishment, but her hopes were not high._

 _"It's alright. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at those Team Rocket scum who don't even give you a proper name to get by! If they didn't give you a name, I'll give you one."_

 _Pakura blinked, as Shiki had a thoughtful look to his face. "I think I'll name you Pakura, after the first PAL Princess Pakura Goldstein. I'll call you Paku for short. You last name would be Ameyuri, which means "beneficial rain". What do you think?"_

 _The newly named Pakura shrugged. "At least I have a name now. It's better than nothing."_

 _Shiki unconsciously clenched his fists. Just what did Team Rocket do to her?_

"You know she was originally a Paradinight, right?" Ash asked.

"Yeah I know. Everyone from Blackthorn knew that the Cursed Child came from that family." Shiki sighed. "But I can't tell her, since she's still a fragile flower, and she'd be inconsolable if she finds out, so I wanted to wait until she was older. That girl didn't even know her birthday, blood type or age. I had to give it to her." He sounded disgusted.

The others looked at one another, still trying to process the fact that their Leader doesn't know anything about herself…except probably her real name.

* * *

 _Pakura and Shiki was sleeping in the tent when Pakura started shaking and screaming things like, "Please, I won't do it again! Just let me out!" The shouts woke Shiki up, and he proceeded to hug her, and shake her awake gently to calm her down._

 _"Shh….it's ok. They may have locked you in your cell again. Don't be scared. I am here with you." Shiki stroked her hair, soothing her, holding her tightly, as Pakura clung to him for security._

 _Pakura opened her eyes and found herself in Shiki's arms, tears in her eyes._

 _"I know. It's a bad dream. Everyone gets them once in a while." Shiki said, smiling. "Why don't we take a look at the stars?"_

 _Pakura nodded, and they both sat outside to look at the millions of stars in the sky and the various constellations._

" _The stars are uncountable, and they only appear at night." Shiki explained. "Aren't they beautiful? Do you like it?"_

 _Pakura nodded, as she looked at the beautiful stars in the sky._

 _Just then, they heard a click, and Shiki took out a knife, slicing a bullet that was meant for her in half. Shiki then threw the same knife at the direction where the gunshot came from. There was a yelp, and Shiki ran over as Pakura clung to him nervously._

 _A Team Rocket grunt was on the ground, clutching to his bleeding abdomen, the knife on the ground._

 _"Now, why are you attacking us in the middle of the night?" Shiki asked coldly, pointing a sword at his throat._

 _The grunt kept his mouth shut, refusing to answer._

 _"If you don't answer, I'll have to force it out of you by any means necessary, and I'll kill you. If you willingly tell me, I might spare you. Now tell me!" He hissed._

 _"I was trying to take out the weapon. She's a danger to us now that she has escaped from Team Rocket." The man answered. "She disobeyed us and now she must pay. She should have stayed with us and be the good little weapon she is supposed to be."_

 _Shiki laughed coldly. "Is that what you all think of her as? A mere weapon?"_

 _When the grunt gulped, Shiki said, "You have five seconds to say your last words."_

 _"Wait, you said you'd spare me if I told you!" The grunt protested._

 _"I said might. Now I choose not to because you don't deserve it…and five seconds is up." With that, Shiki told Pakura to close her eyes, as he moved to slit the grunt's throat._

"I'd do anything to protect her, even if it means killing those in our way. She was a little traumatized, so I agreed to let her share a sleeping bag with me for comfort. Ever since, we had been sharing a sleeping bag, since she had so many nightmares." Shiki folded his arms.

Ash was staring at Shiki, Pakura's very first love with an unreadable expression in his eyes. He unconsciously clenched his fists as he knew the hold Shiki had over Pakura.

* * *

" _What now, Espeon?" Shiki sighed as he saw Espeon came running up to him, and Pakura's crying was heard in the distance._

" _ **I went up to her in the intention to play with her, I swear, but when she saw me approach, she burst into tears!"**_ _Espeon lowered his ears and tail in sadness._ _ **"What is it about me she doesn't like?"**_

" _I told you not to approach her when she's alone." Shiki chided. "Remember what Team Rocket's Pokémon did to her. However, I might have something to help her." With that, he went up to a crying Pakura holding an Egg in an Egg case. The Egg was brown with a cream-colored zigzag stripe around its middle._

" _W-What's that?" Pakura sniffled._

 _"I am sure you'd like a Pokémon you call your own." Shiki offered her the case. "I got the Egg from a day-care worker. I have enough Pokémon and I'm content with my current team, so you can have it."_

 _Pakura started crying again, as she didn't like the prospect of taking care of a Pokémon. She trembled as she remembered the Pokémon attacking her back when she was under Team Rocket's custody. Espeon looked sad when he heard Pakura cry again, but dared not approach, lest her crying worsened._

 _Shiki gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You don't have to do this alone, because I'll be here."_

 _"Will I be punished if I fail?" Pakura wailed, trying to mop up her tears._

 _"Punished?" Shiki looked appalled at the thought of punishing her for failing. "No, not at all. I'll just help you more, since it'll be clear you need it. So, what do you say?"_

 _Pakura looked at the Egg, and shakily held out her hands for it._

 _"That's the spirit." Shiki smiled, as he placed the Egg case in her hands. "I say we should go shopping for some clothes and a backpack for you to store your items. And some Pokéballs as well for you to catch Pokémon, and we tidy up your hair. After that, we can go for ice cream or something."_

 _Pakura tilted her head, as Shiki said, "We can't leave you in these clothes." He nodded to her dirty and blood-stained clothes, which was clearly never washed or changed._

 _"They never really give me anything to wear…" Pakura mumbled._

 _"It isn't your fault." Shiki insisted. "Don't worry about people staring, you can cover up with my jacket for the time being." He offered her a jacket which covered her ugly clothing. Pakura nodded in thanks, as Shiki packed up, and they headed to the nearest city._

 _At one of the clothing shops, Pakura emerged wearing a pink coloured dress with a white collar and sleeves that reached to just below her elbows. In the middle of the collar was a large pink ribbon and it was somewhat frilly at the hem. Her hair was let down to just below her shoulders, kept back with a pink ribbon headband. She also wore white thigh highs with short pink boots. Her fringe was kept back with her headband, which made clear to everyone that she was really extremely cute even for a child._

"Awww, she's so cute!" Everyone had hearts in their eyes at the sight of Pakura. No one could help but fall the cute charm emitting from Pakura. Even Ash was taken aback at her exceptionally adorable looks.

"Oh yeah, that brought a lot of trouble, even during the early days." Shiki nodded. "She has always been someone with extremely good looks. Even as a child, she's a really sweet-looking cutie, and no one can say no to her."

* * *

 _"Paku-chan!" Shiki called out. Shiki was training his Pokémon while listening to the news at the radio. The news informed the world that it was currently March in the year 2005. It then began a long list of reports on various updates around the world._

 _Pakura shuffled outside, and looked at Shiki._

" _Well, would you be a dear and go get gather some Berries for us? Espeon would come with you." Espeon leaped up eagerly, and Pakura looked nervous at being with a Pokémon alone._

 _Shiki smiled at her hesitance. "Don't worry, if Espeon does anything, you just scream for me, and I'll come find you, and punish him."_

" _ **As if I'd do anything…"**_ _Espeon muttered, as Shiki handed her a basket, before giving her the directions to the berry patches._

 _When Pakura and Espeon were walking together in silence, as they made their way to the berry patches Shiki had mentioned. She refused to look at Espeon, while Espeon was trying to persuade her that he would not hurt her. However, they were soon distracted when they heard a buzzing noise._

 _While Espeon fell back to take on the Bug-type Pokémon, yelling for Pakura to hide, Pakura screamed and ran, praying to Arceus that she was anywhere but there. As she did so, she unknowingly teleported, just as Shiki ran into the scene to chase the Bug-type Pokémon away._

" _Where's Paku-chan?" Shiki asked Espeon._

" _ **She was hiding behind that tree, I think."**_ _Espeon pointed a paw._ _ **"I told her to hide there."**_

 _When Shiki went over to check, he said, "Espeon…she isn't here…."_

 _Espeon gasped._

 _Meanwhile, Pakura landed in a crumpled heap in the middle of the road. She looked up and realized she was in a completely different place. A piece of newspaper clipping flew past her, and she grabbed it to see that it was around the year of 2018._

" _B-But that's a completely different time!" Pakura whimpered, and started wailing into the empty street, not noticing a red sports car skid to a stop in front of her and the car door opened to reveal an irritated man with dark grey hair and matching eyes. He was wearing a red suit with a white cravat on his neck._

" _What are you doing out this late and sitting on the road, little girl?" The man demanded._

 _Pakura, upon seeing the strange man, started bursting into tears once more. "I don't know!" She sobbed. "I swear, just don't hit me!"_

 _The man softened, as he went over to Pakura, and offered her a napkin. "What happened? Where's your mummy?" He asked, as Pakura looked reluctant to accept the napkin, hence he started to mop up her tears himself, holding the struggling girl._

 _Pakura shook her head. "Mummy don't want me. She threw me away. She told me she had no daughter."_

" _Your daddy?" The man prompted._

 _Pakura shook her head. "They left me to bad guys who beat me."_

 _The man looked appalled at the abandoned and possibly abused child. "Then who is taking care of you?"_

" _Shi-chan says he will, but I'm lost…." Pakura looked like she was about to cry again._

" _Shh, why don't you come back with me for the night? We can look for your Shi-chan together tomorrow." The man offered a hand. Pakura hesitated, before taking the man's hand as she knew somehow he was sincere and would not hurt her, as he led her to his car, and fastened her with a seatbelt. He got into the driver's side, and started his car once more._

" _Who are you, mister?" Pakura asked quietly._

" _I'm Miles Edgeworth." Miles replied. "What's your name?"_

" _Pakura. Pakura Ameyuri." Pakura muttered. "Shi-chan named me."_

" _That was nice of him." Miles nodded, watching her from the rear-view mirror. "Are you hungry?"_

" _I think so…" Pakura fiddled with the skirt of her dress._

 _Miles nodded, as he parked his car, and gestured for her to get out of the car, as he led her to a flight of stairs to climb to his apartment._

" _Is this your house?" Pakura asked, as Miles nodded._

" _I'm sorry to intrude…" Pakura mumbled, as she took off her shoes and tentatively stepped into the house, looking around at the luxurious apartment._

 _"Why don't you wait in the living room while I make something? I can put in some Steel Samurai DVDs for you to watch. Children love the show." Miles offered._

" _It's alright if you don't want to, Mr. Edgeworth. I-I don't want to be a bother." Pakura mumbled._

 _"Don't worry, it's not a problem." Miles waved her off, as he put in some DVDs and turned on the TV for her to watch the Steel Samurai: Warrior of Neo Olde Tokyo. "You been through a lot tonight. Relax for now." Pakura nodded reluctantly, as Miles went to the kitchen to make something for Pakura._

 _Pakura was enthralled in the action packed series, and squealed at the fight scenes, where the Steel Samurai somehow, against all odds, always somehow managed to win over the Evil Magistrate. However, she was interrupted when she saw a dog bounding towards her in an attempt to sniff her. The action frightened Pakura and she screamed in fear, as she sat at the top of the couch, hugging her legs to prevent the dog from getting her._

 _Miles ran out, concerned, only to see his pet dog trying to get its paws on her. "I see you met Pess." Miles sighed. "Down, Pess." Pess got back on all fours, and whimpered in sadness that it can't play with the little girl._

 _Pakura trembled with fear as she was on the verge of tears, sliding down the couch._

" _Don't be frightened, Pakura. Pess didn't mean to scare you. She just wants to play." As if agreeing with Edgeworth, Pess had a ball in her mouth, as if gesturing for Pakura to play._

" _I'm scared she'll attack me like all the others did…" Pakura whispered, before crying again. She felt someone lick up her tears, and it turned out to be Pess, who had a sad look on her face. Pakura tentatively began petting Pess, which prompted her to bat her hand for more petting. Miles noticed scars on her wrists, the ones she had failed to heal with her developing Regenerative Healing Factor._

' _What did they do to her?' Miles wondered, as he went back to prepare the meal for Pakura. As the 12_ _th_ _episode of the show finished, Miles came out with a bowl of meaty soup and a plate of Sheppard's Pie. As he Pakura the dishes, she nodded her thanks, as he returned to the kitchen, only to return with a glass of something that looked like raspberry smoothie._

 _As she ate, Miles decided to tell her more about himself. It turned out that he was current a Prosecutor for Los Angeles-making Pakura realize just where she was-and that his childhood friend was a Defense Attorney. Pakura noted he seemed happy when talking about his childhood friend Phoenix Wright, and how they met after so many years. He also told her about the cases they had taken on together, they worked to find the truth._

" _He must be a good friend, if he went that far just to see you." Pakura mused, as she finished her food, and started on the raspberry smoothie. "He must love you a lot."_

 _She watched Miles splutter before saying innocently, "I thought that was what family would do for each other. If only my family would love me this much, I'd be a very happy girl." She unconsciously touched the scars on her wrists, and if Miles looked carefully, there were also scars on her neck that was not completely covered by her collar._

 _Pakura saw Miles looking, and said, "Well, I don't have any means to cover these ugly scars up…"_

" _I think I can do something about it." Miles presented her with a black plain choker lined with white lace, and pink ribbons for her wrists. Pakura widened her eyes, as Miles proceeded to help cover her scars on her wrists with the pink ribbons, and the ones on the neck with the choker._

 _Pakura looked at herself, as Miles said, "No one would see those scars anymore."_

 _"Thank you." Pakura finally showed a smile, as tears leaked out of her eyes._

" _No problem." Miles replied, as Pakura let out an adorable yawn._

 _Later, when Miles tucked Pakura into a spare bed, Pakura said, "You're the second person who was ever nice to me. But why would you do so much for someone you don't know?"_

 _Miles gave her a small smile. "Because Wright saved me once, and when I saw you, you needed to be saved as well, from your nightmare. Go to sleep. We'll find your Shi-chan in the morning." With that, he left the room, leaving her alone._

 _Pakura got up, and scribbled a note._

 _Mr. Edgeworth,_

 _Thank you so much for what you have done for me. Words can't express how grateful I am to you. I would never forget this day, and I think I want to study law when I grow up, just like you and your best friend. I hope one day we can see each other again._

 _With lots of love,  
Pakura. _

_She left the note, and was surprised when she suddenly vanished, and she found herself landing on the grass. Hearing the cries of surprise, she looked up, only to find herself in the midst of Shiki's Pokémon._

" _Paku-chan!" Shiki engulfed her in a tight hug. "What happened? Where did you go? I was so worried!"_

 _When Pakura told him, Shiki frowned, before saying, "It looks like you are experiencing Accidental Magic. They must have experimented on you with Pakura Goldstein's DNA, and since her aura had magical properties, you'll find yourself doing more magic by accident. Looks like I'll have to teach you how to control your aura. But did anyone hurt you?"_

 _Pakura shook her head. "No. The man I met was really nice. He made a meal for me and let me watch cartoons. He also gave me gifts." She showed Shiki her ribbons and her choker._

 _Shiki smiled. "Thank goodness."_

"Pakura Goldstein, as you all know, was a very powerful sorceress. Since they used Pakura Goldstein's aura as one of the components to experiment on her, she found herself using magic when she is angry, scared or confused." Shiki explained. "She had no control over it, of course. Like this once when she had turned someone's hair bright pink when she heard him insult me and even hit on her."

Phillip and Jude chuckled, while Ash cracked a smile, before asking, "Can she do magic now?"

Shiki shook his head. "Once she developed her own abilities and controlled her aura well, she doesn't have it anymore. With that Accidental Magic, sometimes she disappeared to other places, and she'd be back with lots to tell but I stopped worrying since she always came back. Once, she disappeared to some mansion where she was taken in by some people called X-Men, as they thought she was a Mutant due to her powers. Made friends with some girl called Jean Grey since they both had the same psychic powers. One day, an assassin had broken in while she was having lessons with the New Mutants or whatever name they were called. She calls her X-23 or something, and when she saw her in a room, she offered company, since she could tell she was sad due to the fact that she can sense emotions. Because of their status as human weapons, they became fast friends, and though X-23 was forced to knock her out, at least she didn't add a device to her forehead. When she was unconscious, she returned to me, and told me about this new friend of hers."

With that, he changed the scene.

* * *

 _"Argh!" Pakura ran over to Shiki, and hid behind him. Shiki, puzzled as to what was going on, looked up, and saw that Pakura's Egg flashed white. He watched from a distance when the Egg began to glow white and transform into the Pokémon the Egg contained._

 _The glow died to reveal a mammalian, quadruped creature with primarily brown fur. The tip of its bushy tail and its large furry collar are cream-colored. It has short, slender legs with three small toes and a pink paw pad on each foot. It also has curious brown eyes, long pointed ears, and a small black nose. The cute Eevee looked around, before seeing Shiki and Pakura, who was hiding behind him._

 _Eevee tilted her head curiously at the latter, as she slowly went up to Pakura, tilting her head upwards in an attempt to sniff her. Pakura, seeing Eevee walk towards her, began scrambling away, only for Eevee to continue to come closer to try and memorize her scent._

" _She'll hurt me! Get her away!" Pakura was somewhat hysterical, as she started crying._

" _ **Hurt you?"**_ _Eevee gave a mournful cry._

 _"Don't worry. Those Pokémon from Team Rocket can't hurt you anymore." Shiki said soothingly, while picking up Eevee._

 _ **"Team...Rocket? What's that?"**_ _Eevee tilted her head._

" _Well, it is a very bad organization that abused her." Shiki explained. "They used Pokémon to hurt her for a long time, that's why she's scared of Pokémon."_

 _ **"Oh no, that's bad! Very bad! I promise to make her as happy as I can!"**_ _Eevee yipped, as she got off Shiki's arms, and started to climb up to Pakura's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek and licking her tears away. Pakura stopped crying, and turned to Eevee, who was looking at her with big innocent eyes. She tentatively petted Eevee, who licked her hand in return._

 _Later, she trembled as she held out a Love Ball, with Eevee shouting encouragement._ _ **"Catch me! Catch me!"**_

 _Pakura threw the Love Ball, head turned away, as Eevee leapt into the Love Ball, and after being caught, she let herself out and clung to her shoulder, much to Pakura's discomfort._

" **She wasn't very receptive to me at first."** Sylveon was looking at herself as an Eevee.

"Was that…" Ash pointed.

"Yeah. That was Pakura's Sylveon as an Eevee. Sylveon was her very first Pokémon." Shiki explained. "You know the damage done to her if she's scared of a tiny Eevee."

Jude and Phillip looked at each other. If Pakura being scared of an adorable baby Eevee was any indication, they can't imagine what else Team Rocket had their Pokémon do to her besides what they had seen. They had a feeling that what Shiki showed them was just a fraction.

* * *

 _Pakura was journeying alongside Shiki, her new companion and Eevee, who was clinging to her shoulder, much to her chagrin, when she saw a Popplio being attacked by a flock of Spearow. Pakura gasped, but Shiki held her back and said, "Leave this to me." With that, he sent out his female Meowstic who used Thunderbolt to chase them away._

 _When the coast is clear, Pakura ran over to the Sea Lion Pokémon, and tended to the Popplio who had cuts all over its body, putting down her backpack in the process._

 _"The cuts are so deep." Pakura looked like she was about to cry as she pressed her hand to the cuts to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. She shook her head as she prayed that she could do something, otherwise the Popplio might die. As if Arceus was answering her prayers, aura flowed out of her hands into the cuts. Slowly, but surely, the cuts slowly healed, and Popplio no longer had wounds all over her body._

 _"Amazing…" Shiki murmured, watching her new healing powers at work._

 _ **"Thank you so much!"**_ _Popplio hugged her as a sign of affection, which made Pakura stumble back, looking at the Popplio like she was an alien specimen. She pried herself off the Popplio, and placed her on the ground near the river, as it was probably her home. She stood up, and hitched her backpack on her shoulders, about to rejoin Shiki. Popplio looked upset as Pakura prepared to leave._

 _ **"You're going already?"**_ _Popplio asked sadly. She wanted the girl to stay with her._

 _"There is still lots more for her to see." Shiki helped answer, looking interested at the Popplio, as he had not seen that Pokémon before._

 _ **"No! You can't leave me here! Please take me with you!"**_ _Popplio exclaimed, clutching to Pakura's legs with her flippers. Pakura, who looked like she wanted to shake Popplio off, turned to look at Shiki, and he nodded as he handed her a Pokéball. Popplio pressed the capture button, and allowed herself to get caught._

" _It would be interesting to see what kind of Pokémon this is, although I know her name is Popplio." Shiki commented. "I never seen one before. Seems to me there may be a lot more Pokémon out there for us to discover."_

" _I guess." Pakura held up her Pokéball, and frowned. "What is the purpose of catching all these Pokémon?"_

 _"Well, in order to achieve our dreams in the Pokémon World, we need them." Shiki explained. "They protect the Trainers and are great companions to have. They can also help us out in various jobs as well, if we train them in the right way."_

" _Is that so?"_

 _"That is so. For instance, I do have four goals to accomplish- to be the best Dragon Master, which I would need Dragon type Pokémon to do so, to win the six regional conferences, and I'll need Pokémon as the regional conferences consist of Pokémon battles. I want to be a Hunter in the PAL region and get the title of PAL's Prince so I can set up an Elite Four, and Elite Four members need Pokémon too." Shiki told her._

 _"Dragon Master…" Pakura murmured._

 _"Yeah, Dragon Pokémon are very hard to raise, but can be a very powerful companion and friend if raised well." Shiki explained. "I want to be renowned in even the PAL Region."_

" _No offense, but I'm not really partial towards them." Pakura muttered._

" _I can't blame you." Shiki sighed. "After all, you did suffer under the Blackthorn City Dragon Clan's hands."_

 _"What's the PAL Region?" Pakura frowned._

 _"It's the most prestigious region that supports all six financially. Many like to go there because it's so beautiful. It's very sunny nearly all the time, with a snow-capped Alps and the crystal-blue Mediterranean in Caelum City. They work differently from other regions, and they even have Pokémon that is not exclusive to any of the six regions. The thing is, PAL doesn't have an Elite Four yet- but I'll make sure they have one. It's also very progressive, so I'll suggest we spend six months in one region and another in PAL Region, so you can find your own calling." Shiki answered._

 _"Sounds good…then what's a Hunter?" Pakura enquired._

 _"It's a person that has proven themselves through rigorous examination to be an elite member of humanity, and they protect the region and prevent crimes all over the region. However, they are only available in the PAL Region. I heard people nickname the Hunter Exam "Exam from Hell", because people die from the Exam. There are many types of Hunters, actually. I'll explain as we go along." Shiki offered._

 _"I guess I'll come with you, and see what I want." Pakura replied._

 _Shiki smiled, and as they walked on, something sleek and blue emerged from the bushes and attached itself to Pakura's wrist._

 _"What's that?" Pakura asked, trying to shake the Pokémon off, to no avail._

 _"It's a Dratini." Shiki admired. Dratini were pretty rare to be found in the wild._

" _Er….hello." Pakura sounded uneasy._

 _ **"Hello."**_ _The Dratini replied happily, her tail wiggling, looking at Pakura with its huge purple eyes._

" _You're….very cute…" Pakura looked at Shiki, as she stroked Dratini's fins, causing her to purr in contentment._

 _The Dratini refused to be separated from Pakura, and let herself out after pressing the capture button on one of her empty Pokéballs. She likes to wrap herself around Pakura's arm like an armband as Pakura cringed slightly at the contact._

"Looks like healing was one of her first abilities." Ash commented.

"Yeah, she can actually heal any living thing besides Pokémon, including humans. She discovered she can heal humans when I burnt myself while setting up a fire for our camp." Shiki said. "Negates the need of a first-aid kit, though we kept them in case her healing powers are not enough since it's far from developed. While I was travelling with her, I taught her how to control her psychic powers and the usage of aura and tried to curb her Accidental Magic by letting her wear aura suppressant bracelets, and even trained Pokémon with her and Mega Evolution. She is a fast learner. I learnt hand-to-hand combat and weapon combat from her actually."

"Were you the better one in terms of aura usage and psychic abilities?" Ash asked.

"You can say that. I mean I have a lot of offensive abilities, you see. You have to note that she doesn't have offensive abilities at all, due to the fact that she fears hurting people."

"Wait, what?" Everyone didn't believe this fact, considering Pakura is the most bloodthirsty and ruthless member among them.

"I know it's unbelievable but believe it or not, she never hurt anyone when I was with her. Didn't want people to suffer like she did." Shiki nodded. "I ended up protecting her, killing whoever tried to endanger her. She picked up hobbies to take her mind off things such as sketching clothing, cooking or dressing up. She was eventually able to make Pokéblocks, Poffins and Poképuffs, and bake other pastries. She asked me to try them, and since at first she wasn't very good, I had to tell white lies so she wouldn't be so upset. I mean after all, even with those hobbies, she was pushing herself so hard to please me, for fear I'd return her to Team Rocket."

Everyone looked saddened when they heard Shiki tell them this, as Shiki went on, "Also, shortly after rescuing her and helping her get over the Pokémon thing, we actually created a law firm in the PAL Region."

"Legend & Co. Law Offices, right?" Phillip asked.

Shiki nodded. "Yeah, I made use of my Pokémon Conference winnings and the money I saved up while I was still the heir of the Blackthorn City Dragon Clan and my family's wealth, since I was from an aristocrat family. Who knew she's so skilled at being a Defense Attorney? We never really lost our cases, because sometimes the prosecution was so enamoured with her they forgot their own arguments."

"An adorable lawyer, wasn't she?" Jude chuckled at the image of the cute Pakura taking stand as a Defense Attorney.

"Yeah…at one point she fell in love with me, and I did fall in love with her too, I mean who wouldn't, true, she was somewhat a perfectionist, but she's cute when she's trying, especially when she's shy. Most of the time, she was kind, sweet and gentle. However, she suddenly said something that made no sense. I didn't believe her, and I nearly paid for this with her life."

* * *

 _Pakura and Shiki were taking a walk around Natus City. Pakura was admiring her pink acolyte dress provided by the Melody Temple, where they were staying the night and the white demon warding hood. Eevee was sitting on Pakura's shoulder, content to be there. Shiki had worn something similar earlier in the afternoon, though he had changed out as soon as dinner was over. However, Shiki had heard someone call his name, and he turned around._

 _"Shayna! It's been a while!" Shiki smiled, going over to his fellow neighbour._

 _"It's been a while too, Shiki." The girl smiled. "How is your journey so far?"_

 _"Great. I got a travelling companion with me." He nodded to Pakura, who was clutching to him, and hiding behind him. "Well…she's a shy one."_

 _"Aww, she's so cute." Shayna smiled at her. "Hello."_

 _Pakura gasped and widened her eyes, as she seemed to recognize Shayna. "Shi-chan, we need to run!" She started tugging at Shiki's sleeve._

 _Shiki looked puzzled, as he looked down at Pakura with shock. "What are you talking about? She's my friend, you can trust her."_

" _Yeah, why are you saying this, Pakura?" Shayna sounded sickeningly sweet, as she reached out for Pakura._

" _Don't!" Pakura held out a hand, and pushed Shayna with telekinesis, which shocked Shiki, as Pakura had suddenly developed telekinesis._

" _Paku-chan!" Shiki shouted. "What are you doing?"_

" _Shi-chan, we have to run! We have to run away!" Pakura pleaded hysterically, putting her hands on his shoulders. Shiki, angered at Pakura's behaviour, did one thing he swore to never do: He slapped her._

" _Idiot!" Shiki shouted. "What are you doing? She didn't do anything wrong!" Shiki clenched his fists. "Apologize to her! If you don't, I'll hate you!"_

 _Pakura started crying at the thought of Shiki hating her. "No! Shi-chan no, don't hate me!" Only to sense an attack and dodge, but in the process, she lost her arm. Pakura cried out in pain as she took her arm and ran off into the forest, Eevee following close behind._

 _Shiki gasped at Shayna who started to give chase to Pakura and her Eevee, and retaliated by shooting her point blank on the head, killing her instantly._

' _She must have been responsible for the mass murders we heard on the news! She must have seen them!' Shiki thought, as he went after Pakura, only to find himself teleporting, and he found himself in a strange place, on with distinctive Renaissance architecture and where people wore cowls as part of their clothing. The only thing he had that indicated Pakura was there was her bracelet that suppressed her aura and psychic powers, which must have dropped shortly after her arm was severed._

' _Pakura won't last long out here with her severed arm.' Shiki thought. 'And I have a bad feeling about this place…What have I done? I need to find her.'_

 _Meanwhile, Pakura stumbled into an alleyway, making use of her healing powers to stem the flow. She took out a Pokéball and sent out Gardevoir. She shakily disguised Gardevoir with some of her spare clothing, and added another demon warding hood that the Melody Temple helped provided in the case of hers being dirtied or destroyed._

" _Gardevoir, scout the area, look out for any dangers coming our way. I'm going to try and stitch my arm back on." Gardevoir nodded, as she went off, while Pakura used her new found telekinesis to try and align her arm, while she stitched it back, making sure that wounds from her arm being cut off was completely healed and that her arm looked as good as new. Once she was sure she stitched her arm properly and that she regained the function back, she sought out Gardevoir, making sure to cover her face with her hood as she did not like the staring even back when she was with Shiki._

 _As she looked for Gardevoir with Eevee looking around, she made a mental note to find her bracelet, as she had just realized she lost it. She widened her eyes when she saw a pool of blood and ran over, only to see Gardevoir hyperventilating as her body was full of cuts._

" _Gardevoir!" Pakura ran over to her, clutching Eevee in her arms._

" _ **What happened? Who did this?"**_ _Eevee whined._

" _ **When I was scouting, I saw a man. He was slicing some creatures apart with a sword, and somehow detected me watching. I tried to defend myself, but he's too fast. I escaped by teleporting, and here I am."**_ _Gardevoir winced._

" _I'm sorry, Gardevoir." Pakura started crying. "I need to do something, anything that can fix you in an instant!" As if hearing her pleas, she found that she had summoned a giant doll with a nurse's hat, attached to a conjured bracelet on her wrist. Pakura shakily looked at the doll, before saying, "P-Please fix Gardevoir."_

 _The doll nodded, as it took out various surgical tools, and went to fix Gardevoir's injuries. Pakura had no choice but to wait and keep guard as her ability worked on Gardevoir. She shivered, not from cold, but from the fact that she had sent Gardevoir, her own friend into danger. What kind of trainer was she? Once she finds a way out, she's going to ask Shiki that she stop travelling with him and go off to find her own calling._

 _When she felt the ability deactivate, Gardevoir was as good as new, and Pakura hugged Gardevoir, sobbing. Gardevoir petted her hair softly, reassuring her that she did not know, and she saved her life. Eevee yipped in agreement towards Gardevoir's words._

 _Pakura heard footsteps, as people were telling others that they sensed a great power coming from their location and they had to look for it, as it may be someone named Sparda's reincarnation that is here to guide their city or something like that. Pakura grabbed Gardevoir, and turned invisible, as they heard people look for the source of the power._

' _I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared…' Pakura thought, as she and Gardevoir made it safely to another area before turning visible. 'What should I do?' She knew she was weakened from the usage of the new telekinesis, and from stitching her own arm and Gardevoir's wounds with yet another new ability. Furthermore, they are lost in an unfamiliar place and possibly unfamiliar time._

" _Gardevoir, I think we better…" Pakura was cut off when Gardevoir used Reflect, which deflected a sword that came slicing down at her. Gardevoir grabbed Pakura and Eevee and jumped back._

" _It looks like you somehow recovered." A voice said. "Seems to me it was thanks to the girl."_

 _Pakura looked at the young man, or rather, teenaged boy in front of her. He had fair, pale skin with white hair that was slicked back and a cold expression on his face. In terms of attire, he had a long, silver buttoned blue coat with three separated coattails, black sleeveless vest, dark green pants and fingerless gloves. His boots were brown in colour, and he was clutching to a mighty blade._

 _By sensing his power, Pakura knew that if they were to engage him in battle, they would lose, and worse, they may be killed. Wait…had she read about him before? There is something familiar about him._

" _ **You!"**_ _Gardevoir hissed, looking at her assailant._ _ **"What do you want now?"**_

 _The teenager raised a brow in amusement. "I'm sorry, I don't understand you. Care to translate?"_

" _She's asking what you want from us." Pakura said, stepping up next to Gardevoir, as Eevee growled at the stranger. "But I can answer that. I sense the lust for power within you and you seek the power you have sensed earlier to use as a weapon, as it was familiar to you because you have encountered it before when fighting a powerful opponent. Am I right, Elder Son of Sparda Vergil?"_

 _The next second, Pakura found herself with a katana pointed to her throat. "How did you know that?" Vergil hissed at her. Gardevoir went to attack, but Pakura stopped her._

" _It's not difficult to interpret emotions, and I have read a book on your father back in our region." Pakura answered, remembering where she had read that info from. She used telekinesis to push Vergil off her, and gave Gardevoir her backpack while she retrieved her weapons, knowing one has to escape as there is no way to back out of a fight with him._

" _Take the Pokémon to safety using Teleport. I'll stall him." Pakura said to Gardevoir._

" _ **But what about you?"**_ _Eevee was worried, as Vergil got up, cold fury on his face._

" _Go find help if you can." Pakura answered. 'Please Shiki, won't you be proud of me?' She thought of Shiki's smiling face and how their last words ended up with a fight. 'Looks like my time with Shiki is over.'_

" _And here I thought the Legend of Sparda with two twin sons was fiction." Pakura said, as she clashed weapons with Vergil, who attacked her with his katana once more. 'He's fast!'_

" _Now you know it's not." Vergil gave her a cold glare._

" _I know what you want, but I'm afraid I will not be anybody's weapon again." Pakura shook her head._

" _It's not for you to negotiate." Vergil sounded bored, as she dodged a Judgement Cut from him, and blocking a knife she threw at him._

 _"Well, I won't back down now." Pakura took out a card (which had a picture of her wielding a sword as tall as her and smiling. Furthermore, it had her name printed on it in Latin), and threw it in the air. "E_ _xcitant_ _!" With that, the card disappeared and a giant sword manifested and she covered it with aura. She charged into battle, weapon in hand._

"You really rubbed off on her." Jude commented. "So Pakura Goldstein did fight Vergil before, huh? If he was familiar with our Leader Pakura's aura?"

"Well, I guess so, but she was said to have returned from that place and time looking depressed and committed suicide soon after." Shiki answered, frowning. "I think it has something to do with the Vergil guy, but they never truly found out what happened. Anyway, Paku-chan lost the battle and pretty horribly I might add, resulting her in getting kidnapped."

"It isn't surprising, seeing she didn't have any offensive abilities she could use, and she was already weakened from using her abilities to heal herself and Gardevoir." Ash commented. "But hitting her was way too far, Shiki."

"I know." Shiki said miserably. "I wasn't thinking clearly, I forgot she would never lie to me."

* * *

 _Pakura completely regain consciousness to find herself in some simple bedroom. The room was void of decorations, as if it was meant for rental purposes. She was still feeling roughed up from the after effects of the battle. She groaned as she sat up on the single bed she was laid in._ _How was she supposed to know that her opponent can make use of his Summoned Swords to act as a long range attack?_

' _I can see through his attacks, but I'm not fast enough to counter some of them.' Pakura thought angrily. 'Darn it. I need to train more.'_

" _Finally awake?" A voice said in a calm yet commanding tone._

 _Pakura sighed at the sight of Vergil. "You're wasting your time. It's not as if I have any offensive abilities that you can weaponize."_

" _While this may be true, you did display some impressive moves and durability for a human girl, including the fact that you healed yourself even when unconscious proved your powers are strong and you have potential. Hence, why I didn't go easy on you." Vergil replied. "It's some use, and furthermore, I need your power to locate a chest that belonged to Pakura Goldstein."_

" _What?" Pakura was surprised._

" _According to what Pakura Goldstein told me while I was trying to get out the location of the chest, that only those who with and have inherited her power would be able to locate the chest itself, as it would call out to their aura. And only they would be able to open the chest. You are going to be my key to acquire the chest and open it." His eyes turned cold, as Pakura shivered in fear._

" _What makes you think only I can do it?" Pakura shot him a look. "You sound like anyone with her power can do the trick."_

" _Oh no, she said one more thing. That the person that could accomplish the task would share her first name." Vergil held up her card that she had used in the battle to activate her artifact. "So, as soon as I saw that your name is Pakura Ameyuri, I know I have the right person. Furthermore, you have this card, which was something that Dark Princess mentioned she had developed."_

" _I don't think you want the power to take over the world. However, great powers always come at a hefty price." Pakura commented, as she snatched her card back. "But it's sad to see that you have forgotten why you wanted more power in the first place."_

" _It's none of your business, girl." Vergil shot her a glare that frightened Pakura. "We're leaving tonight, and no more arguments."_

' _Sorry, Shiki. It looks like I'll never see you again.' Pakura thought, but she merely said, "Well, one thing's for sure, if you kill me, you lose your chance of finding and opening the chest you were talking about. Also, you'd be surprised at what humans can do better than-" She did not see the handle of the katana hit her head, as she crumpled to the floor. The last thing she heard was someone blasting open the door._

 _Meanwhile, Shiki was running across the city with Eevee in tow, looking for Pakura and trying to sense her out. He was angered when he read into her Eevee and Gardevoir's memories after they were found with Pakura's backpack, which was missing its weapons, and the reason why no Pakura was in sight._

 _Shiki scanned people's minds to see if they had seen her, but none of them did, and he was horrified when he realized Pakura had revealed her abilities, though relief was felt when the townspeople did not know who used the power. 'What would this Vergil guy want with sweet Paku-chan?' He thought. Just then, he narrowed his eyes as he heard Pakura's voice in his head. 'Sorry, Shiki. It looks like I'll never see you again.'_

 _The thought of him never seeing Pakura again, and that it was all his fault…it was too much._

" _No, no, no…" Shiki muttered, trying to sense her, and was not disappointed when he felt a weak aura coming from the left, and looked up at what looked to be a cheap motel. He entered, making use of his Mind Control to make sure the people did not question him and following Pakura's presence that seemed so strong now, she had to be close, until he stopped at a door._

 _Shiki frowned, until he heard Pakura talking to someone, but was cut off, and he heard a thud. That prompted him to blast open the door and enter, pointing his laser gun at the only other occupant. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the unconscious Pakura on the floor. It was clear she had been through an intense battle earlier._

" _I'm here to take Paku-chan back, if you don't mind." Shiki raised his brow at Vergil._

" _ **Yeah, give her back, you monster!"**_ _Eevee chimed in._

" _Sorry, human, I need her abilities. Stay out of our way." Vergil took out his katana, ready to kill Shiki._

" _I'm not allowing you to gain power at her expense, and this is not a request." Shiki shook his head, as he pinned Vergil with telekinesis, and throwing a Pokéball out, revealing Gallade._

" _Gallade, you know what to do." Gallade nodded, and teleported Pakura, Eevee and himself out, and Shiki himself snapped his fingers, teleporting him and Vergil to an empty clearing. Vergil tried to air trick to chase Gallade, but Shiki had already put a barrier to prevent teleportation._

" _Paku-chan's days of being a weapon is over, half-breed." Shiki sneered, as he summoned a sword. "And if anyone tries, they will have to go through me. I'm sure you have time for another game." With that, both of them charged at each other with their respective weapons, clashing with each other._

 _With the tip of the blade inches from Shiki's head, Shiki smirked, and jumped to the side like a blur with exceptional agility and his opponent's sword completely missed him._

" _How did you-?" Vergil whispered. In the moment it took him to utter the words, Shiki already infused his wind aura onto the sword to increase the lethality, power and range and he had sliced his opponent's chin in an upward direction, causing him to stagger backwards._

' _It looks like he can take quite a beating. Then again, he is not human.' Shiki thought, as he conjured four tornadoes, and sent them towards Vergil. Only for them to be dissipated using a variety of slashes, and Shiki met the energy swords sent to him with energy blasts, shattering them into pieces._

 _Shiki narrowed his eyes, as he nimbly avoided and deflected a barrage of dark purple spheres of sword slashes, and as he was backed to a corner, he pivoted on one foot, blocking what could be a fatal hit to his head._

" _That was some moves, human." Vergil smirked, as Shiki noted he doesn't seem fazed by his previous attacks. "No one ever avoided my Judgement Cuts in quick successions or sensed me in time to block my attacks. I'm starting to get a little more amused."_

" _If you like that, then you will love this." Shiki replied. 'I can see why Paku-chan lost to him. He's too strong and fast for her, and has much more experience with his blade than she did. Even I can only hold him for so long.' Shiki created an aura dragon which split into smaller dragons which rained down on the clearing they were battling in. He closed his eyes and concentrated his Earthquake Generation to sense Vergil's movements, before blocking his sword once more. However, due to the power of the katana, Shiki's sword actually shattered from taking the full swing._

" _Nice reflexes, but I'm afraid it's over." Shiki's eyes glowed, and Vergil yelped in pain as his head started to hurt, causing him to drop his katana. Shiki increased the power of the psychic attack, which caused him to collapse._

" _Sorry, but you still lack knowledge of how aura works in our world, and it looks like half demons are not immune to psychic powers." Shiki shook his head, as Vergil started to get up, though it proved to be difficult when his head hurt intensely._

" _You may surprise me this time, but it would not work twice." The half demon glared at Shiki, as he glowed with a demonic aura. Shiki knew he had to get out of there before he activated his full power._

" _You're right. Because there is no next time." Shiki revealed a card similar to Pakura's. The card glowed, as Shiki said, "The psychic barrier should wear off soon. I advise you to wait it out, since if you try to teleport, let's just say it's pretty painful. Admeo, Pakura Ameyuri." With that, he disappeared to Pakura's side._

 _Once he did, Pakura was there, muttering that she wished to go back, not even noticing Shiki. A light glowed brighter and brighter, and they were sent back to their own time and dimension._

"Wait one minute. How can you teleport if the psychic barrier affects you too?" Ash asked.

"It's thanks to the Pactum Card." Shiki explained. "For those who don't know, a Pactum is a contract used by many magic users in Cladia City, though it had been expanded to aura users. Pactums can be created with any magic or aura user. The partner with whom the Pactum is formed would attain abilities related to their personalities. Pakura and I made one when we realized she had Accidental Magic so I can help her control it and so she can borrow my abilities to fight on her own and her magical power allowed us to create one, as back then, only magic users can make the contract."

"So, how does the teleportation thing come into play?" Jude asked.

"Well, the Pactum Card also allows the partners to summon each other at any time, or teleport to each there's side. With the incant Veni Foras or Admeo, followed by the partner's name, the user would be able to summon the partner or go to him or her respectively, moving both living and inanimate objects across space instantly." Shiki explained. "When we get a Pactum Card, we have an artifact to act as our main weapon when fighting and our abilities and weapons depend on the individual."

"How are they created?" Phillip enquired.

"Well, someone would have to act as the Bonder, to draw up a magical circle via a spell invented by Pakura Goldstein. A ritual or vow is made to seal the contract, normally a kiss on the lips between the two involved, or blood exchanging, for those who are uncomfortable with such things." Shiki said.

"Which did you do?" Ash frowned.

"The first one. The kiss on the lips." Shiki answered. "A card would be created as proof of the contract. The Pactum Card has three modes: The Tempus Form, The Amour Form, and the Cosplay Form, which would be randomly chosen if we choose to activate our cards to use in battle. Either way, we would be able to use it to aid us in battle. The Amour Form and Cosplay Form would usually leave us in new outfits to fight in, and would stay until we deactivate the power in the card. As the one you saw just now, it was in Tempus mode, where it allows her to just summon her artifact to aid her in her fight."

"If that is so, why didn't she use it in battle?" Ash shot Shiki a look.

"I'm getting to that. If one of us dies, the other would no longer able to call forth their artifacts or access the abilities provided by the Pactum Card. Also, the deceased's Pactum Card would be destroyed automatically." Shiki smiled. "Since I died, the pact we made broke, and hence why she didn't use them in her fight."

"Oh…" Phillip nodded in understanding.

"The thing is, the Tempus Form can become the Perpetuus Form if it was the Permanent Pact. The Permanent Pact can be differentiated by a symbol on top of the card in all the forms, while the Temporary Pact would not have. While a magic or aura user can make many Temporary Pacts, there is only one Permanent Pact they can make, and once it is made, the other Temporary Pacts made would be dissolved, and both parties must be at a certain age before this can be made." Shiki said.

"Why would the other contracts be dissolved?" Phillip enquired.

"Well, a Permanent Pact often leads to a non-platonic relationship between the partners, and many partners involved in the Permanent Pact do wind up marrying each other. I guess Pakura Goldstein created it based on how she had witnessed people loved one another." Shiki went on. "The Permanent Pact taps into the power of the bond between two people, which allows them to access more powerful abilities and artefacts. The stronger the bond, the more powerful the abilities and artefacts provided by the Pactum Cards are."

"Pakura never mentioned that to me." Ash was somewhat disappointed.

"Well, she hid this because if you knew, it is likely word would get out that you need a partner for the Permanent Pact." Shiki answered. "I mean, you would tell your Elite members, and Rosaline is sure to gossip about it, since she's an adult acting like a typical teenage girl. And what happens after that? One word: Chaos."

"You don't trust her, do you?" Jude asked.

"More like disappointed in her. I mean, she acted like the spot was hers, and claiming she is not a child when she proved to be stubborn like a spoilt child when her incompetence is proven? I'll advise you to replace her after this is done. But moving on…"

* * *

 _As they returned, Shiki looked around and panicked at her unconscious state. He promptly teleported them to the PAL General Hospital. He could only watch as the hospital staff whisked her away on a stretcher to check her condition, and sat at the chairs to wait it out._

 _An hour later, the doctor came out, and said, "She's just fine. She is in her room resting right now. She is simply over exhausted, and a little dehydrated."_

" _I hope so too." Shiki muttered, as he followed the doctor who took him to her room. The nurse whipped back the curtains, and there she was, hopefully sleeping her exhaustion off. However, he saw that she was hooked up to an IV._

" _If she is fine, why does she need that?" Shiki started to panic._

" _Oh, that's just to put some fluids in her." The doctor explained. "She'll be fine, really." With that, he left to give them some privacy._

 _Shiki hugged her, being mindful of the IV. "Oh Arceus, I nearly lost her. She was going to be used as a weapon again, and we barely escaped this time. If I had battled him any longer, I would have lost as his stamina exceeds mine." He felt tears trickle down his face, not bothering to wipe them. "What have I done?" Shiki sighed, as he took Pakura's hand, wishing she would wake up soon. "I don't know if you can hear me. I'm sorry."_

"So how long was she out?" Phillip asked.

"One week. She used up much more aura than I originally thought. Well, when she woke up…" Shiki changed the scene.

* * *

 _"Sorry, but we'll part ways here, as I'll be travelling by myself from now on. I can only say that this is something I must settle on my own." Pakura said to Shiki, as they walked out of the hospital together after she was being discharged._

" _What?" Shiki was shocked. "What is it you must settle on your own? Tell me, and we can do it together."_

 _"No thanks. I want to discover and learn by myself. It has nothing to do with you." Pakura shook her head. It was almost as if the old Pakura was gone, and was replaced by someone cool and mysterious._

 _Shiki started crying, and shouts, "The world is dangerous out there and there are many evil people who will try to kill and take advantage of you, including that evil team who tortured you, Team Rocket!"_

 _"It's fine, Shiki. I can go by myself. After all, I have this." Pakura shrugged, as she revealed her Pactum Card._

 _"Please don't! It's dangerous! I'm worried for you!" Shiki pleaded._

 _"I'll be fine." Pakura answered. "There is something I need to find out on my own. It's nothing personal."_

" _Wait, I'm sorry for not believing you!" Shiki tried again. Pakura took steps away from Shiki, and his heart broke with every step she took._

 _Pakura checked the clock for the time. "Sorry, Shiki, can't talk. I got to go." With that, she ran off, with Shiki chasing after her. He was led to a library, where she entered, and Shiki wondered what she needed to know._

 _However, his question was answered as she took out books on Pakura Goldstein, and sat next to a computer researching on her, taking notes on the information found in either the books or the Internet itself._

' _Why would she want information on Pakura Goldstein?' Shiki thought, but was interrupted when a man, no less than forty years of age sat at the chair next to Pakura's, and asked, "Hey, you're cute. Are you taken?" However, he was ignored as Pakura was rather engrossed in her research. She was interrupted when the man made to touch her shoulder, which triggered Shiki's anger._

 _Before Pakura could even turn around to give the man a good beating, Shiki used telekinesis on the man. Lifting him up to the ceiling, he said in a very intimidating voice, "Oh yes she is definitely taken. And if you try to take her away from me...you shall suffer a fate worse than death." He gave a human version of the move Glare, and threw the man out the window, before dragging Pakura away out of the library._

 _"What the hell, Shiki? What do you mean by take me away from you?" Pakura repeated his words, as she was pinned against the tree by Shiki's telekinesis and he took her notes. It turned out she was researching on some chest that Pakura Goldstein had hidden and the list of possible items it contained pertaining to the weapons and abilities she had._

" _What did he tell you about this chest thing?" Shiki asked her. "Please, tell me, Paku-chan. I want to help. What happened?"_

" _Why should I?" Pakura sounded somewhat bored and tired of him, which saddened him._

 _"Paku, I beg of you, I'll do anything, please just stop trying to push me away. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking clearly, and I…" Shiki was cut off when Pakura sighed._

" _It has nothing to do with that. There is something about the chest that must be important to this region, and I have to investigate. Also, it's something personal." Pakura shook her head. "Were you even listening to a word I said?"_

" _Look, you may deny it, but you're pushing away help because of what I did. I was hasty I was…wrong, I…" Shiki hesitated. "I'm sorry Paku. Please forgive me."_

" _Ok." Pakura said. "Can I have my notes back now?" She reached for her notes, but Shiki held it out of her reach._

" _Look, I realized I hate it when other people talk to you like that. When I saw you at Blackthorn, you were just so cute, I wish I could just take you and keep you as a favourite pet. I'm sorry I got you into trouble that day."_

 _Pakura sighed again, as she could tell Shiki was extremely upset due to the fact that she can sense emotions, but then she stopped. Wait, what did he just tell her? Then she realized something._

 _"It was you. You were the boy that talked to me before my mum caught us." Pakura whispered._

 _"I was hoping you'd remember." Shiki gave a small smile. "Do you know what I want to do now?"_

 _When Pakura shook her head, he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Pakura froze for a moment, before she closed her eyes, and it seemed that Shiki had turned it into a French kiss._

 _Shiki was hers. And she was Shiki's. Anything else was unthinkable._

 _"I think…as long as I have you by my side, I can endure anything." Pakura remarked._

"Aww…" Phillip grinned at the sweet interaction between the two of them which promised to be a romantic relationship, which probably is.

"Yeah, she was around 13, but she's very mature for her age." Shiki nodded. "Although, shortly after that, I received news on a pox epidemic that killed my entire family. You should see her cling to me like some affectionate pet to comfort me. Not that I needed much anyway, since I never really liked my family as they always worshipped the ground the Elders walked on." He rolled his eyes at the thought.

"Did they leave everything to you?" Ash asked. "Considering you're family."

"Of course. I gained everything from them, and as a birthday present, I had given Pakura the Tesoro Del Drago, a snowflake amulet that my parents said was a piece of jewellery originally owned by Dracaena Kurobane, the founder of our family, which later became our family heirloom. They claimed that Dracaena Kurobane was powerful alchemist who wielded powerful black magic to summon and control dragons and that the amulet was made of Loralite, the most powerful gem found in the planet Lorien." Shiki snorted. "Knowing how much the Blackthorn Dragon Clan are thieves, as evidenced by them stealing the Dragon Blade from PAL's Drákói City, excuse me if I doubt the fact that it was actually a family heirloom."

'So the Dragon Blade really was stolen.' Ash thought, as Shiki went on, "But since it was a beautiful accessory, I gave it to her when we went on Amare City for a date. She loved this cake called the Slice of Happiness served in one teashop in that city and was pretty fond of the ice cream and drinks served there. The little snacks they serve such as croquettes wasn't bad either. I recommend the chocolate gateau there as well." He sent a knowing smirk at Phillip.

"I'm not taking Diantha to a place where romance is emphasized on." Phillip shook his head. "I don't like her in that way, and my promise to go Coffee Cave with her was as friends."

"She'll want you to make it up, though." Jude shrugged. "She definitely is interested in you."

"I'm not that interesting." Phillip mumbled.

"Maybe not, but you never know with women, with the way their minds work and all." Shiki raised his eyebrow. "Isn't it right, Ash?"

Ash shrugged.

* * *

 _"Hey, Pakura, did you know?" Shiki asked._

 _"Know what?" said Pakura._

 _"The Pact we had made….there is something more to it. I realized that the stronger the bond, the more powerful the abilities and artifacts provided by our Pactum Cards would be. I know a way we can strengthen that bond." Shiki answered._

" _How?" Pakura frowned._

" _I heard that when person is in a tag battle with another long enough, he and the partner will have a special bond. This bond would allow them to understand each other and nothing will keep them apart. They would unite and think like one person when they battle together and they can finish each other's sentences if the bond is strong enough. Not only that, they may be able to apply this teamwork in real life as well. This is how people win tag battles, because partners must work together and understanding each other well would help even more. If we do that, we can strengthen our current Pact too!"_

 _"Amazing..." Pakura was awed._

 _"Do you want to try to see if my theory works?" Shiki smiled._

 _"Yeah!" Pakura replied, nodding._

 _"We can train, and test our skills in the upcoming Trainer's Tournament. I hear that it's the 50th year the tournament was held, which means there may be a twist to the tournament, if what I had read was true. Rumours say that the twist may be a tag battle, meaning we have to participate in pairs. Partners must be chosen by the participant's own free will."_

 _"That's great! That means both of us can partner each other, and we don't have to worry on winning in the expense of another!" Pakura exclaimed._

 _Shiki smiled._

"After a few months of training, we decided to challenge the PAL's Battle Frontier, get those 12 parts and four symbols, and participate the Trainer's Tournament. And I was right, that year we participated, it was the tag battle. We won by simply using our Dragon and Psychic type Pokémon." Shiki said, running a hand through his hair.

"How did you become the Dragon Duo?" Ash asked.

"Well, after we won, we were challenged to battle Kenneth Anderson, the Chairman of Hunter's Association at that time and the temporary ruler of the PAL region. You see, if there is no Prince or Princess, the Chairman would usually take over until one can be found. Both of us had to battle him individually, and when we won, he gladly crowned us as the newest Prince and Princess, and that was how we were officially known as the Legendary Dragon Duo by the entire PAL Region. But that nickname had been going on since we participated in the Trainer's Tournament."

"Wait…Kenneth Anderson? Is he..." Ash never even knew Kenneth had a last name, as everyone just called him Ken for short, or sometimes, just Kenneth, let alone the fact that it was Anderson.

"Yeah, he's William's older brother actually. William took over as Chairman when Kenneth decided to retire and be an event announcer and host. After we won, we started travelling again, as Pakura herself wanted the Gym Badges I had, says she wanted to increase her battling skills to apply to her Pokémon Contests. And she was the one who suggested we catch other Pokémon so no one would suspect we are the Dragon Duo when we are in our civilian identity, and it was useful when I participated in Conferences and she took part in Pokémon Contests in the PAL Region. She got interested when I took her to watch one." Shiki explained. "I chose to catch Ice Pokémon, while she chose Fairy. By that point, we also started filming PokéVision videos for our fans. You'll be surprised how much the fans love us singing with the Pokémon."

"Oh yeah, you were one of the most popular people in the PAL Region, no doubt about it." Jude nodded. "I remember out rivalry at the Interregional singing competition. The fans just screamed when you walked to the stage."

Shiki laughed.

* * *

 _"How should we make our Elite Four stand out among the other regional Elites?" Shiki wondered. "I mean, PAL is already a region that stands out, it's true, but the people need to stand out too, otherwise our reputation would drop. We can't just take winners of the Tournament, right? After all, we need to activate Pakura Goldstein's Decree on the group being the main protectors, with the Prince and Princess in charge."_

 _"I have an idea." Pakura said, grinning. "Why don't we have requirements to apply to be an Elite Four member? Besides winning the Trainer's Tournament, the person must at least pass the Hunter Exam, since our group would be the main protectors of the region, know how to use aura or at least display some ability to use it, choose two types they specialize in and must be good, and have a talent should they want to be an Elite member of our region. We can be an example, since we meet every single criteria."_

 _"Great idea, but what about the talent part?" Shiki was puzzled._

" _It's an activity one might take up since Elite Four members generally don't travel around to collect Badges or Ribbons like ordinary trainers. It can be anything, really, anything they can interview us about. For instance, you play musical instruments, and I can cook." Pakura replied._

 _"I think our Elite should have another occupation besides being Elite and Hunter. Oh, and if they apply, they must battle one of us, and whether they get in or not would be our choice._ _Also, they can only apply once. If they are rejected, they'll never be an Elite Four member, to make sure they work and train to earn it rather than applying shortly after winning." Shiki added._

 _Pakura wrinkled her adorable nose at the thought of idiots who thought they could become Elite just because they won. "Yeah, I agree. Those people are always the ones who let their big victory get in their head."_

 _"Those are great ideas." Shiki pointed his pen at her. "I'll submit the proposal to the Hunter's Association, and see if I can enlist someone to design the ad."_

 _"And once the flyer is in, I can go buy some space ad for the local paper." Pakura nodded._

" _We'll give ourselves a few days to plan this out. We cannot disappoint the legacy left behind by our first Princess." Shiki added. "We shan't fall behind our predecessors."_

"So the Elite Four was a Decree made by Pakura Goldstein?" Jude asked.

"Not exactly." Shiki frowned. "She only wrote something about a group of elite protectors to keep the region safe. It was technically our idea to make it into an Elite Four, and due to the Decree on 'Elite Protectors', we were very strict in selecting our members. Rosaline was…disposable, to say the least. She may have a valuable prophetic ability, but it only works once in a blue moon and she doesn't have control over it, basically making her almost useless. Pakura accepted her most likely because of this ability, hoping to use it to our advantage. Otherwise, she would have killed her herself."

The boys stayed silent, as what Shiki said was true.

* * *

 _Pakura and Shiki were on the way back from their mission, chatting happily at the success of their mission, when Pakura spotted four figures she thought she never saw again. Her biological family. Hatred ran through her veins, and she was turning to chase them down, only for Shiki to grab her arm and pull her back._

 _"Paku, it's dangerous. We're still weakened from our last mission, and you might get killed." He warned, but by that point Pakura was beyond reason and she snatched her arm back._

 _"No." Pakura hissed. "I want them to suffer now! I can't wait anymore!" With that, she ran off, leaving Shiki to chase after her. She cornered them in a Team Rocket base, and proceeded to activate her weapons and fight them. However, due to her reluctance to kill or hurt others, she was losing the battle. She did not notice her biological mother about to stab her from behind, until a sword intercepted it._

 _"Shiki?" Pakura was surprised, as she turned to see her saviour._

 _"Do you really think I'd leave you alone to deal with them?" Shiki smiled. Pakura grinned, as resolve returned to her, and continued their fight with her former family. Unknown to Pakura, however, her half-brother was about to strike her from behind with a knife. Shiki, who was clashing with her stepfather, threw the man aside and went to Pakura, using himself as a human shield against the knife. Shiki's eyes widened slightly as the knife went through his chest and out of his back. Shiki retaliated by plunging his hand into Charon's chest, and ripping out his heart, crushing it into pieces. Charon screamed as he died in agony._

 _When Pakura watched this, she felt cold all over, as her family looked at each other, since their breath had started to mist in front of them. Pakura felt the icy feeling spread through her, and it's freezing, bitter and dead. The floor started to freeze and the ice spread around, and eventually, the base looked like a giant freezer, as Pakura looked down, expression unreadable._

 _Pakura acted on pure instinct and pushed them all down with telekinesis, pinning their hands and feet with the icicles, making them scream in pain. She then jerked her hands downwards, impaling them all over with the jagged icicles, and decided to let them bleed to death slowly. She heard her mother gasp out, "Amethyst Paradinight" as she bled to death, and Pakura stopped, knowing that her mother just called her by her real name._

 _She quickly tended to the self-destruct bomb by freezing them. When this was done, she rushed over to Shiki, who smiled proudly when he saw her new ability, and healed his chest wound, only for him to cough out more blood._

 _"The knife must've been dipped in poison that can affect even aura users…" Shiki commented, looking at the blood he just coughed out. Pakura was crying as held him close, wishing it was just a nightmare, that Shiki would be fine. Shiki started to cough and gasp for air, as Pakura tried to hold him and look for an antidote that her family may have carried around, only to find nothing._

 _"No, no, no…" Pakura whispered. "I can't remove poison and there's no antidote. Come on, Shiki, I'm taking you to the hospital…You'll be fine, Shiki, you'll be fine." She wished it was the truth, and she prayed to Arceus that he let Shiki live, she'll do anything, she swear, just don't take him away from her. She needed him after all._

 _Shiki held up a hand. "It's too late for me."_

 _"I'm so sorry! It's my fault, I led you to your death. I…" She couldn't seem to form the words._

 _"Shh…it's never your fault. I chose to come with you, and I chose to protect you. If only one was to make it out alive, I want it to be you." Shiki said soothingly, as Pakura brushed his hair away from his face. "Besides, death isn't the end, it's just the beginning of another story."_

 _"No, if I wasn't wanting revenge so badly, I wouldn't have come here, and you wouldn't have followed, it's…." Pakura was crying too heavily to speak._

 _Shiki reached up a hand, and wiped Pakura's tears. "Listen. You're truly the benevolent Princess that everyone thought you are. Don't let anyone else say…otherwise…"_

 _Pakura nodded, knowing his opinion was all that mattered. She attempted to wipe up her tears._

 _"Paku…my feelings… will never change, and one day I hope you'll bring a change to the region. Paku, to you, I give you…all my powers and my Pokémon and I shall the future with you through them. You'll probably have to suffer again from now on…but don't change, keep going your way. You told me that you would never back down…at all costs, right?"_

 _Pakura clutched to Shiki's hand like a lifeline as she felt foreign aura flowing into her, as he mouthed, "Sing for me." She sobbed as she knew it was Shiki's Power Transference, which was what he usually used to protect her, as she tried to sing "Safe and Sound" for him._

 _Shiki's eyes have fluttered shut during the third verse. His chest moved but only slightly, though the aura transference is still going. Pakura found herself struggling to finish the song, and the power transference ended just as she finished the last verse._

" _Why? Why do you have to die for my mistake?" Pakura asked, tears openly flowing down her face._

 _Shiki smiled, as he gestured for her to lean down. Pakura leaned down to hear, and Shiki gave her a surprise French kiss. He was kissing her goodbye. "That's because I love you. Now, would you smile?" When Pakura obeyed, Shiki smiled back and his eyes fade over and his breathing stopped._

 _And Pakura's world shattered. Pakura reached for her Pactum Card, only to see that everything had disappeared except for the symbol behind her picture, and she knew that it meant her partner was dead._

 _"Shi-chan?" Pakura shook him, but he didn't respond. "Shiki! Hey it's not funny! Wake up! Please!" It went on for a few minutes, as Pakura attempted to wake Shiki up despite the cold hard fact in front of her. Pakura stopped as she found herself surrounded by the grunts, and she screamed. Her telekinetic powers started to tear the bodies apart, killing them gruesomely._

 _Eventually, the place was a bloody mess, with Pakura was kneeling in the midst of it, still cradling Shiki. She unfroze the time bomb and got them out, just as the base was engulfed in a huge explosion. She stared at it impassively, and teleported both of them back to their cave._

 _As she carried Shiki, something fell out, and Pakura noticed a black velvet box decorated with a red ribbon. Pakura gasped, as she opened it to reveal a beautiful heart-shaped one and quarter carat pink diamond ring on a platinum band, and that he had planned to take her to Amare City during the weekend and that he was going to ask her to marry him. The thought that she lost the very chance of living her happily ever after made her cry again, as she wore the ring on her left ring finger, inwardly saying yes to his proposal._

 _The Pokémon, hearing her voice, all came out to meet her, only to stop smiling when Pakura looked like she had cried a lot. When asked what happened, she mumbled "The Dragon Duo is no more…it's my fault." and did not elaborate as she went to a part of the cave to make his grave._

 _"You guys are all I have left." Pakura sounded like she was crying. "But you can go if you wish, I won't stop you. After all, most of you belong to Shiki." The Pokémon looked at one another, but none of them made a move to leave her, as she needed them more than ever._

 _She got up, and the plaque said:_

 _Shiki Kurobane, aka the Dragon Prince_

 _11 April 1990 (D.O.B) to 4 December 2012 (D.O.D)_

 _A loving friend, a caring lover and The Prince of Everyone's Hearts_

 _"Death is simply the beginning of another story."_

There wasn't a dry eye when everyone watched this scene.

"Amethyst Paradinight…" Ash murmured. "So that is her real name."

"Ice Manipulation was her very first offensive ability that was her own." Shiki mentioned. "She suddenly received it when she saw me being stabbed in front of her, and it was also the day she found out her real name."

"So that was how you died." Ash stated, as Shiki nodded.

"And she killed her own family." Jude winced.

"They weren't very nice anyway." Phillip shrugged.

"And we were set to become the new Elite members, alongside Jude and Phillip. Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be, though she did become the new Elite Leader." Shiki explained. "Anyway, she fell into depression after I died. Got a lot of nightmares too, so at some point she stopped sleeping and eating well, and kept herself awake. She got obsessed with training her powers, and eventually, her healing powers was trained to the point she can remove any sickness and poison but that simple reminded her that she was too late to save me. Furthermore, her Regenerative Healing Factor was also powerful enough to heal her scars on her wrists and neck, no longer needing the things Miles gave her. And after I died, she started killing viciously, and more than necessary too. Eventually she took over as the Head of Blacklist Department, and became known as the most dangerous assassin in the PAL Region. She started to use torture as well just for the fun of it."

The three winced when they heard Shiki tell them what happened.

"After that, she wrote the letter of disappearance and she attacked Blackthorn, killed almost all the members, and stolen the Dragon Blade and two Pokémon from them- Salamence and Hydreigon."

"Was it the night where she set the eternal blizzard?" Ash remembered the dream.

Shiki nodded. "That's right. After all, Dragon types are weak to Ice, so you should know how the weather weakened the Dragon-type Pokémon. They were all forced to keep them inside, and could not train them. Anyway, those two Pokémon she stole chose to stay with her ever since because she took care of them, healed their injuries and even fed them. She was kinder to them than the Elders. Pakura also left our law firm to one of the attorneys, and stopped taking cases altogether."

"Were we friends with her?" Phillip asked tentatively.

Shiki nodded. "Well, everything was well until a manager called Benzene came, and he actually subjected her to princess lessons where the old teacher abused her even further. And it was made worse when…" Shiki changed the scene.

* * *

 _Pakura was storming down to Benzene's office, and pounding on the door, fury clear in her face._

 _"Come in." Benzene said, as Pakura nearly ripped the door knob off the door when she entered, glaring at Benzene as if she wanted to kill him._

 _"What is the meaning of this?" Pakura hissed, as she slapped down a notice he had pinned on their doors._

 _"It means what it says. Either you allow yourselves to be sold to my associates so I can be more popular, or your loved ones would get killed. And with my connections, I know where all your families and friends live." Benzene replied smugly, checking his nails for show to try and make himself look appealing, but it just made him look even more disgusting._

 _"Those three would never stand for this." Pakura folded her arms._

 _"Oh, they would cave when it comes to their family alright." Benzene answered, smirking._

 _"You'll regret using our loved ones as a bargaining chip." Pakura stated, as she stormed out._

 _That night, when Benzene made his way home, he saw Pakura slit his mother's throat._

 _"I'll make a deal with you….You leave the other three and their loves ones alone, and I'll deal with your so-called associates." Pakura answered. "I suggest you accept, or you'll know what an orphan feels like."_

 _Benzene knew that Pakura would kill without hesitation, so he bumbled out, "Fine, but you must not tell any of the other three about it."_

 _Pakura hesitated. "Alright, I agree. Just leave those three alone."_

 _When Pakura got back to the Plateau, the others were already asleep. She took this opportunity to one by one go to their rooms. The first room she went to was Rosaline's, as she erased her memories of her having psychic powers, and left for Jude's room._

 _She entered Jude's room, apologized by saying, "Sorry, bro. Your real family is more important than me." With that, she erased all his memories of them spending time together, and leaving only the knowledge that she was the Elite Leader, and modified his memories to the point that he would think she was cold towards him._

 _Phillip's room was last. She mind controlled him first to edit her out of all the pictures they had taken when they spent time due to the fact that she was hopeless when it comes to utilizing the functions of Photoshop, and when it is all printed out and ready, that was when she erased his memory after apologizing to him and made him go back to sleep._

 _Pakura swapped the photos in the living room, taking the real ones with her, and placed her hand on the lock at the treasure trunk, and the lock instantly unlocked as they recognized her aura. She placed the photographs inside the said trunk, along with other items such as pictures of her and Shiki, love notes written to her from Shiki, Shiki's birthday presents to her, the ribbons Miles had given her when she was a kid and finally, her dead Pactum Card with Shiki._

 _"Perhaps some things are best left forgotten, for now." Pakura muttered, as she packed a smaller locked box inside the trunk and locked it. "And I still need to hold on…."_

"She erased our memories to protect us…and our loved ones…I…how…why…" Jude was at a loss for words.

"Pakura really was my best friend…." Phillip was shocked.

"But how does their Pokémon not remember too?" Ash asked, frowning.

"Mass mind control." Shiki replied. "You were right, she had loved you. But something happened, and her love slowly turned to hate, and it was enough to take you out. This was when she started drinking and dosing on antidepressants. However, she had to make side trips despite her leaving her post since she still had the Princess lessons and Benzene needed her to attend parties like, and being sold to an associate for the night. To make themselves feel better, Pakura's patrons would make presents of money and jewellery, but she wants more than that."

They waited, and Shiki said, "She wanted their lives. Their personal secrets and their property. Every client that she was sold to ended up dead the next day. Quick death for single men, and slow, torturous deaths for those taken, especially when they have kids. She mind controlled them to get them to tell her their deepest, darkest secrets, convinced them she gave them a great time, and made them write a will stating they leave everything to her. After that, she took their lives and their gifts and what they so-called left her in their will, sent their secrets to the local paper, and never came back. The number of people she killed at that time was countless. Also, because Benzene believed a true Leader never shows emotions, he never allowed her to show them. At some point, she lost the ability to show empathy or express her feelings."

"Can you restore our memories? We want them back." Phillip requested.

Shiki shrugged. "Certainly." He touched them on the foreheads with his palm for a few seconds, and undid the memory blocks. The two of them fell on their knees, as their blocked memories flowed rapidly into their head, and remembered the good times they had together, before Pakura turned against them.

"Why did she leave her post?" Ash asked.

"Well…"

* * *

 _Pakura was in a vast library looking at a book about Pakura Goldstein, and reviewing her current notes. It was dark, and the only light source was a lamp connected to a plug on her desk. It was clear she had somehow broken into the library in the middle of the night._

 _She heard footsteps, but paid no heed and let the person come closer. They saw that when the man stepped out into the range of the lamp, he was a disfigured man who had yellow cat-like eyes glowing with power and he was bald and lipless. It was clear that the man had sank deep into the Dark Arts once wielded by Pakura Goldstein, which cost him his looks and turned him into the being he was in that present time with Pakura._

" _So, you're looking for the book on the legendary Maga Chest." The man spoke up. "The tale of Pakura Goldstein's adventures away from her own time and dimension?"_

 _Pakura slammed one of the books close, and said, "I don't think this is any of your business. Now leave."_

 _Still, the man approached. "What are you looking for, then?" He prompted. "Pakura Goldstein, a legendary Princess with great magical, spiritual and rumour has it, demonic powers, who unknowingly passed down everything to the more beautiful version of her…That's the story, is it not?"_

" _I said, leave. I won't repeat it a third time." Pakura looked ready to throw her knives._

" _There is no need to conceal your evil side." The man coaxed. "There are people who are seduced by it, and find their place in the world of evil. Spread it, make them embrace it. You're the Princess, are you not?"_

" _You're right. I don't have to conceal it." Pakura stood up, as she tore the man apart with her telekinesis and took out a vial containing acid, and pouring it on the man's parts and body. When she was done, all that was left was a hole where the man had fallen. "Don't you know? I work alone."_

"As you can see, she was travelling for more information on Pakura Goldstein and the contents inside the Maga Chest she remembered from long ago and that was when she met you, Ash." Shiki explained. "Moreover, she had another hidden motive when she left her posts. I'll show you."

* * *

" _Well, Sylveon. I detected someone nearby whose potential is near limitless." Pakura suddenly remarked, as she reviewed her notes_ _on the contents in Pakura Goldstein's Maga Chest. "If moulded correctly, he'll practically be a human Ar….Hey!" That was when she discovered an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road._

 _Pakura ran to him and noted he had a Pikachu with him. "Are you alright?" She pressed a hand to him, and all his memories flowed to her as she healed his injuries. At the same time, she learnt that his name was Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum._

 _When Ash opened his eyes, he found himself on a sleeping bag and saw that Pakura was cooking a meal with her Sylveon. Pikachu was munching on dinner quietly and seemed to enjoy the food._

" _Who are you?" Ash asked._

" _My name is Pakura Ameyuri." Pakura replied, deciding to use her alias for now, as she ladled the plates with goulash. "I found you in Nuit Forest, and decided to bring you to my campsite. Here, you have to eat something." She handed him a plate, as he looked down at the food. He took a bite, and was delighted at the fact that the pasta was great with the chopped beef and tomato sauce._

" _Slow down, you'll choke." Pakura shook her head. "So how did you end up in this forest?"_

" _Oh, I don't know exactly how to explain it." Ash replied. "I mean, one moment I was being chased for a murder I didn't commit in Pallet Town, and the next, I found myself here. Where are we, anyway?"_

' _Is his teleportation that strong?' Pakura wondered, as she said, "I see. To answer your question, we are currently in the PAL Region. From what I know, the only thing you can do is prove them wrong, and I suggest you start from the Kalos Region, and work your way all the way to Unova. After all, from what you tell me, none of them should be there."_

" _So, I have to collect the Badges all over again, huh?" Ash grumbled at the thought of meeting them again as some of them were Gym Leaders._

" _Not really. Except for Kalos and PAL, you can use my Badges to register, since I have no intention of participating in the Pokémon Conference." Pakura replied, as she revealed her Gym Badges. "All you need to do is to train your Pokémon, and catch some more. After all the regions are cleared, we can explore this one, since it's the most dangerous region." She handed Ash a glass of Tropical Fruit Juice, which Ash noted tasted divine._

" _Why are you helping me?" Ash asked, as he started crying from the fresh memory of what happened to him._

" _Maybe because I saw myself in your eyes." Pakura shrugged, as she wiped the tears from his face. "After all, I do understand your pain, your grief. Also, this is the time you have to force your best smile. Help me pack up my stuff, won't you, we're going to buy you some new clothes and equipment, and then we'll catch a flight to Kalos."_

 _As Ash obliged, happy at the new path laid out for him, Pakura whispered to Sylveon, "Yes, he makes a fine Champion indeed. He had hidden strengths he doesn't know yet."_

"What was her intention?" Jude asked.

"Well, at one point, she predicted that one of the girls would have to go for the sake of the region…so either Rosaline or herself have to leave because neither would be able to be an Elite member as long as the other is still an Elite."

"So one would have to leave us?" Ash was shocked, and Shiki nodded.

"She was prepared for the worst if her prediction referred to herself, and needed a safe way to make sure that the region would be in good hands, and when she found you, she knew you would make a good addition to the team." Shiki said grimly, as Ash looked away. "However, she first had to also help you make sure you were not hunted down, so she did this…."

* * *

 _A girl Ash assumed to be Pakura, since she had brown hair and dark blue eyes, was sitting among the residents Ash recognized to be the people of his hometown. They were in what looked like a property of Pakura's, judging by the luxurious furnishing and decorations. They were looking at one another, as if they were suddenly taken and placed there, which probably was the case._

 _She was listening as a man explained that they would have testified for Ash, but they were threatened by the traitors not to tell what happened or else their lives would be hell and even threatened their loved ones. In fact, they installed bugs in their houses and came once a week to make sure they have not said anything about the murder to anyone outside of Pallet Town._

" _I see…" Pakura murmured. "Well, I ask you this then: Would you testify, if you know that you and your loved ones would be safe?"_

" _Definitely." A woman nodded. "But the traitors have friends everywhere and they are so influential in the Pokémon League and the Contest World." She sighed sadly. "I hope Ash is alright."_

" _Oh don't worry about him. He'll be safe in my hands." Pakura waved her off. "And I can guarantee your safety, if you give me the details as to who you want safe from the traitors and I can track them from there. I definitely have more influence than all of them combined."_

" _What makes you say that?" A little boy asked._

 _Pakura laughed, as she dropped her illusion. Many people gasped as they recognized the person to be the current PAL Princess, and others stared in awe._

" _Is Ash really with you?" Another man sounded excited._

 _Pakura nodded. "Yes, I can assign you safe houses using my properties I have acquired in various regions. I will use monitors to check on you and to alert me if you are in any danger, but not to pry into your private conversations. There is a videophone to contact me if needed in each of the properties, and I can help track down your loved ones as well so I can transfer them to live with you, if you would like and pack your possessions to deliver to you, since it's dangerous to go back to Pallet Town at the moment...for you, anyway. I would also deliver basic necessities to you on occasion, such as groceries and toiletries and even clothing, though you'll have to get some of them yourselves. However, I have only one condition."_

" _What is it?" Another woman smiled at the prospect of the offer._

" _Just testify for Ash when the time comes, and tell the truth. I'll come over if I am free maybe cook a meal or two for you and give you updates on Ash. Deal?"_

" _You've got a deal, Princess." Everyone said in unison._

 _Pakura nodded, and as she left, a woman remarked, "I think she'll be the perfect bride for our town's pride and joy!" The women squealed, while the men nodded in agreement._

"She did all these at the risk of losing her own positions and titles to make sure you would be able to succeed in your goal, you know." Shiki frowned at Ash.

"So she did it to keep them safe." Ash looked guilty. "But…why?"

"Let's find out." Shiki said ominously.

* * *

 _"Why did you quit as Dragon Princess and refuse the offer of being an Elite Four member, only to turn up as someone else to be Princess again with a note from yourself, and even taking the leadership from Phillip?" A girl with black hair that went all the way to her waist had her back turned to Pakura. They were sitting at the balcony of a hotel room, as Pakura sipped her tea. "I don't get it."_

 _"Everyone would suspect if I were to go searching for information to resurrect someone as the Dragon Princess. Questions would be asked as to what happened to the Dragon Prince, Akeno." Pakura replied, as she was revealed to wear a Pretty Snowflake Pendant with a draconic pattern, and they knew it was the gift Shiki had given her._

 _"You know I can't do anything to stop you, since I'm be travelling abroad, such as to the Kingdom of Khura'in, to train my spiritual powers tomorrow. After all, I am not ready." Akeno shook her head. "But what they did to you was unbelievable, and they deserve what they got. After all, just because you're born from a one-night stand doesn't mean you can't achieve great things in life." As she turned around, it was revealed she had a petite figure and she appeared to have an angelic appearance and possessed an innocent aura about her._

" _You don't have to do anything." Pakura replied. "I am glad you understand why I do the things I do. It's not as if I have anything left to lose."_

" _Who do you have in mind?" Akeno asked. "After all, you still have one more spot to fill."_

" _Oh, an irritating girl called Rosaline Pyra applied for the spot." Pakura angrily spat._

" _The one that thought you needed help when a Team Rocket member attacked you?" Akeno was amused, as everyone noted that her speech and even her laugh sounded refined. "Oh boy, she really shouldn't interfere until she knows the whole situation."_

 _Pakura gave a curt nod. "Who does she think she is, interrupting my kill and having the gall to apply for the last spot, thinking all she needed was to win the Trainer's Tournament? I had to hear her beg for more chances, as she gave excuses such as Jude had the type advantage, and I was the strongest member, so naturally, she'll lose."_

" _Hahaha. Sounds like she'll be trouble for you in the future." Akeno laughed._

" _Your tarot card reading has showed that she would fail in proving others wrong, though I see some hope for her to accept things for what they are. Your skills in all areas of divination is really something. Promise me, when you come back from training, when you are ready, you'll come back." Pakura looked at Akeno in the eyes._

" _Of course I will. I promise." Akeno smiled. "After all, only I can discern your feelings."_

" _I still can't believe my Psychic Shields don't work against you." Pakura shook her head. "And about the other unbelievable thing..."_

"Who's that girl?" Ash frowned.

"Akeno Calfuray Cheveyo, her clan lived in the Ten'i Village in the Sinnoh Region, and they were a clan of spirit mediums…" Shiki started, but was cut off by Jude.

"Oh my! As in the Akeno?" Jude gasped. "I didn't know Pakura knows her personally!"

"You know her?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Come on. Akeno owns her own spa called the Magicae Springs Spa and also had her own line of beauty products called 'Beauté Magique!' and it also includes soaps and shampoos and even perfumes. Aquamarine and Jin uses her products for prep, as those are the best quality you can get. Every single issue of PokéSTYLE would usually have adverts on her brand of products!"

Phillip gasped. "I heard they are planning to use the hair dyes from that brand alongside my machine!"

"I hear she had a preference for Grass type Pokémon, since she also loves flower arranging and decorating." Jude nodded. "Thanks to her wealth and fame, her entire clan was allowed to move to Ariolo Village since it provides a training regime for the trainees and it would allow her to train with her fellow clan members, and eventually Ariolo Village was known as the hometown of the of Cheveyo Clan of spirit mediums."

"Is she a Hunter?" Ash frowned.

Shiki nodded. "She is a two star Botanical Hunter, and I hear she is reaching three stars, thanks to her contributions to the region. She likes to travel around to find new plants and flowers as components to make new dyes and beauty products. They met in the Hearthome Collection which was sponsored by Akeno. Akeno was a good friend of hers and she even knew Pakura was the former Dragon Princess and her relationship with me, and Paku knows about her clan's dark history and understood her resolve. Akeno apparently has the ability to hear the voices of people's souls and discern how they feel. Not even Pakura, who has Psychic Shields, is immune because it's not a psychic power."

"First time she was defeated, I'm sure." Ash said sarcastically.

"Well, it was Akeno who introduced Pakura to the mechanic of Z-Moves, you know." Shiki said.

"What dark history?" Ash frowned. "And what are Z-Moves?"

"I'll leave it to Paku to tell you everything herself, since she does have access to it, not that she had showed it of course. I'm just saying, Pakura never liked Rosaline, and because Rosaline possessed inferior psychic skills and come from a normal background and yet did not appreciate what she has and only wanted the position to show off to her past bullies, she developed a deep hate towards her." Shiki said.

"But what about the fact that she sided her and everything?" Jude was astonished.

"Please, that was just an act, to get Rosaline to depend on her and throw her off her trail." Shiki shook his head. "Her hope of using her as an example to show that they did not need to suffer a loss to be a PAL Elite member was just a cover. There is a reason why Pakura treats her like this…"

* * *

 _Pakura was walking past Rosaline's room when she heard talking. She stopped as she heard Rosaline saying, "This position was mine from the beginning, Espeon. I can show those people that I am the very best now and there is no way anyone can take that away from me."_

" _ **Except if you're exposed, you'll be disposed of. That Pakura sounded serious when she said it."**_ _Espeon pointed out._

" _There's no way she'll do that." Rosaline said dismissively. "I mean, I have the fortune telling ability which would be useful."_

 _Pakura and Sylveon looked at each other incredulously, as Rosaline went on, "I have read up that the Phoenix Princess had made a Princess Orb could grant the greatest power to its bearer."_

" _ **What would you want that for?"**_ _Espeon asked._

" _Well, I was thinking of acquiring it so I can get the powers and increase my rank in the Elite. I mean, I'm still the weakest Elite, and although I'm second member, it's only by name and they all look down on me!" Rosaline sounded frustrated. "I'm not a child, no matter what the Leader says. She may be Princess, but she is not undefeatable and I will beat the Dragon Duo's legacy to the ground and show them I deserve to be the Psychic specialist."_

" _ **You know, you could just be an ordinary Elite Four member and save all the trouble."**_ _Espeon muttered._

" _No way. I'm practically the reincarnation of the Phoenix Princess, since both of us use Fire/Psychic types. I'm born to be part of them." Rosaline replied, as Pakura can detect arrogance in her tone. "I mean, this is the coolest region to live in and imagine the perks that come with this position."_

" _ **I think there's a catch to it."**_ _Espeon frowned._

" _I'm sick of it, Espeon." Rosaline complained. "She doesn't want to give me another chance because I failed to defeat Jude and came up with this ridiculous rule that I can only apply once. It's like I don't even have potential! Phillip and Pakura dismissed me like I'm some commoner. I want to demolish this stupid rule, as I bet the power went in her head and she can't see talent if it slapped her on the ass. I will do anything to get back at those bullies and show that I am the best."_

" _ **How dare she insult the Dragon Duo?"**_ _Sylveon hissed angrily._ _ **"Why did you let her give her so many chances and let her in?"**_

" _Honestly, I was hoping her prophecy ability can help us. After all, her words and actions are like a child's. Unfortunately, this…" Pakura sighed. "She's going to destroy all the legacy we have worked to build. And one thing I hate is someone insulting the Dragon Duo. Rosaline won't have her position for long, because she is disposable. How foolish, Rosaline. How foolish. And now, you'll learn the hard way."_

"Oh my…" Jude was stunned at what Rosaline had said. "Why didn't she just kick her out right away?"

"She usually doesn't retaliate immediately. That way, it's more agonizing and you won't expect it when she finally strikes." Shiki shrugged. "She thought Rosaline doesn't deserve any less. After all, the fact that she saved the position for Akeno would be the last straw for Rosaline."

Ash looked grim, and he spoke up. "Didn't she pass everything in three weeks? I know it's quite a feat, considering I did it in ten days and she's much weaker."

"About that….she told us to keep it a secret…" Jude looked away. "We agreed since Rosaline was the so-called only normal one. Guess we were never meant to be normal in the first place."

"What am I missing here?" Ash looked at Jude and Phillip.

"The three weeks does not include training." Shiki shrugged. "If we count that, it'll be six weeks. Jude passed everything in two weeks." Shiki ticked off. "Phillip in sixteen days."

"I wasn't the most physically fit." Phillip mumbled.

"And we, meaning Paku-chan and I, passed in eight days. And that does not include our training." Shiki checked his nails. "So basically, her achievement was nothing compared to ours. Rosaline is stronger than a normal human and Paku-chan did underestimate her a little, but compared to us, well…."

"Guess she was too decent to her." Ash muttered.

"So as you can see, her feelings towards Rosaline isn't really genuine. You know what was the only genuine feeling she had at that point? It was her love for Ash. I don't know when, but at some point, she fell in love with you, but nope, you're still in love with Champion Cynthia, who never even loved you for who you were." Shiki glared at him.

Shiki's words stunned Ash, as he stumbled backwards, though Jude and Phillip did not looked surprised. "She…loves me?" He stuttered, and turned to Jude and Phillip. "And you knew?"

Jude and Phillip nodded. "We were hoping you'd get together with her…" Jude started.

"But we realized it was all a dream." Phillip added, and Ash realized their words stung. It can't be possible. It can't be.

Except…what was Gary talking about again the other day?

The story about the Skitty, Valentia. The Skitty that looked so good on paper, but the girl could not click with. The girl had to give her up, as she never wanted to play with her and it wasn't fair to Valentia.

He got it now. He got it.

Some people can seem perfect…everything about them can be, on paper, be just right.

Until you get to know them. Really know them. Then you realize, in the end, while they may be perfect to everyone else, they just aren't right for you. And right now, Cynthia was not right for him. She was never right for him. Everyone knew it. Everyone but him…

Arceus, he must be the densest boy on the planet.

"Of course she loves you, though I doubt that now. I mean, why else would she take care of you, guide you to the best of her abilities and willingly risk her reputation just for you during those six years? Why else would she tell you about her status as an Elite Four so you would challenge her and be Champion? Why else would she risk the fact that and you would take over the PAL Region? She can easily keep it a secret and remain as Princess, you know." Shiki looked at him with disgust. "But then, this happened…"

* * *

 _Pakura was making her way back to Ash, muttering "I'm late…" repeatedly, looking up at the sky worriedly, as it was already night time, and the forest was deserted. Ash realized that it was the same memory that he had dreamt of._

 _Pakura sensed something, and looked around, extremely alert. She look somewhat panicky, and sprinted off towards the edge of the forest, where she might be safe. However, she kept looking behind, as if she knew she was pursued._

" _I don't like the looks of this." Pakura mumbled, and seemed to have sensed an attack, as she jumped, and a Shadow Ball hit the spot where she had been earlier. She did a backflip, and landed on the forest clearing safely._

' _Nice reflexes.' A telepathic voice said, and Giratina came into view._

" _And what do you exactly want from me?" Pakura asked. Giratina did not answer, and before she could react, she was hit with an Aura Sphere. She stood her ground though, and managed to regenerate herself from the injury given to her. However, Giratina then used Psychic, immobilizing her._

" _Wait, what did I do to deserve this?" Pakura tugged at her psychic bonds._

' _You look like the perfect candidate as my Chosen.' Giratina said quietly via telepathy. 'You have the heart of someone who have lost everything. However, I sense promise in you, and with my help, you can go far.'_

 _Pakura must have known what it entails as Giratina's Chosen, for she struggled even more and shouted, "No, I don't want this!"_

' _Too late.' Giratina taunted. 'Once I set my eyes on you, you cannot run.' Pakura was then knocked out, and Giratina approached the unconscious girl, and she seemed to glow in a purple aura before turning back to normal._

" _I too, was a creation by demons, and hence I bestow the dark power meant for them to you."_

"I think I'll leave the history of Giratina for Paku-chan to tell. Although, she would have avoided activating it, if it wasn't for one simple fact: She overheard you telling Pikachu that you still love Cynthia despite what she did, and at that moment she knew she couldn't win you over." Shiki glared at Ash, who had the decency to look ashamed of himself. How could he have hurt her so much?

"But the Scarlet Anger, while granting her great powers and even allowing her to wield spiritual powers, it ate away her emotions, her sanity, and most important of all, her love for you. She became more obsessed with learning the forbidden technique to resurrect me, and to push through with her final plans...and then suddenly, I returned to her and things were back to normal, and she gave up on Ash because she had me to talk to. Or so she thought." Shiki went on.

"Meaning what?" Jude frowned, as Ash became horrified at the implication.

"I'll show you." Shiki said quietly.

* * *

 _Shiki was munching biscuits on the sofa when Pakura reached the room. Pakura thought it must be a guy's thing, to eat a lot and yet maintain his weight. When he saw her, he started their heart-to-heart talk again, and Pakura sighed. The three was surprised to see Shiki casually having a snack when they clearly remembered his corpse being frozen in an icy grave Pakura had created._

" _Ash would not know my feelings if it hit him on the face." Pakura muttered angrily. "All he could talk about was to prove his worth to Cynthia when he was battling me, and his passion was real. What is it that she has that I don't?"_

" _I think you're perfect just the way you are." Shiki said firmly. "And why go after him when you have me? I mean, you have a lot in your plate for one, and you're wearing my ring."_

 _Pakura nodded. "True, I thought that because deep in my heart, I know something's wrong."_

 _Shiki laughed, as Pakura gave a smile when she heard his laughter. "Don't worry, it's just your imagination." He ruffled her hair affectionately. "Don't let it get to you."_

" _Yeah, what was I thinking?" Pakura shook her head, as Shiki went to turn on the music box containing the songs they had sang together. "So, how was the battle with Ash?"_

" _I lost…I kind of expected it. I'm not angry, I'm proud at how much he had grown. He's now the very first Champion of our region." Pakura shrugged. "I did get him to his last Pokémon, though. Someday, he won't need me anymore. I wonder why you can't just take Rosaline's place and be the Leader."_

 _Shiki was about to open his mouth to answer, when someone knocked, or rather, pounded on the door, and Pakura said, "Come in."_

 _The door opened to reveal Benzene. "Well, how was the match?"_

 _"The one against the latest challenger?" Pakura asked._

 _"Yes, the one you are supposed to win." Benzene said angrily._

 _"I lost." Pakura said shortly as Shiki glared at Benzene._

 _"You lost? YOU LOST?" Benzene shouted._

 _"I'm bound to lose once in a while. You don't expect me to be perfect in everything." Pakura said nonchalantly. "Besides, I'm sure he'd make a great Champion."_

 _"We don't need a Champion. Now I got one more pesky little boy to manage, and this is all your fault!" Benzene yelled._

 _"You were never a good manager in the first place." Pakura muttered._

" _Yeah, which manager makes other people go to all the parties when they don't want to just to boost his own fame?" Shiki sneered._

 _Before Pakura could react, Benzene grabbed her music box and smashed them on the floor. "Let's see if you dare lose a battle again!" Benzene spat, as he stormed off and slammed the door behind him. Pakura glared at the door, before retrieving the music box. She frowned, and attempted to play it again, only to fail._

" _Oh no…it must be broken." Shiki whispered, running a hand through her hair. "Make him pay, Paku-chan. Kill him." He narrowed his eyes in a sinister way, as Pakura nodded._

"Hey, we all lost, how come she was the only one who was punished?" Jude protested.

"To Benzene she wasn't supposed to lose because she was the Leader, and supposedly the most powerful among the four of you." Shiki replied.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Ash was horrified.

"She wanted a fair fight, to see how much you have grown. She'll never make you throw away a match even if it meant her punishment." Shiki sighed. "At 'my encouragement', she went Benzene's house the same night, and made him admit what he did to the woman who was supposed to be their manager. He confessed that he went to her house with people that were loyal to him, coerced her into writing the letter, before they gang-raped her and killed her. He disposed her body into the sea after that. Pakura retaliated by making him write a letter to admit his misdeeds and his resignation, and dragged him in an outhouse to be tortured. She tortured him for over 40 days, before he was finally killed and she disposed his body into the sea located at Pacifidlog Town."

"What happened to that horrible teacher you mentioned?" Phillip asked.

"She poisoned that insolent teacher of hers with Dimethylmercury hidden in a cake, and symptoms appeared four months later and a year later, it killed that old lady, but maybe it was because she found out that her contract was dissolved once Benzene's letter went to the news, and Pakura was allowed to treat her however she wanted. Hence, she was shocked to death." Shiki laughed. "Because Paku is extremely horrible at fixing even the simplest of things, she daren't fix the music box herself, and she didn't ask Phillip because they were no longer friends."

"Were you…?" Ash gestured towards the memory.

"Look, listen to me, and listen well. Pakura is mentally ill, and she's suffering from three mental illnesses: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression Disorder and Schizophrenia. Her Scarlet Anger caused the third and is not helping with the first two." Shiki rubbed a temple. "I never existed at those times, all the conversations such as the one I showed you was all in her head and all the advice I gave to her was something she unknowingly thought of herself, not because I told her to. I was only able to keep some of these memories because I transferred my life force to her and stored it. She doesn't have any of these memories and if she does, it's all distorted and mixed up. She knows I'm dead deep down but she couldn't seem to accept it."

"And after that, Rosaline asked Phlox be the manager. Now I think of it, she made use of her Elite position to make sure she had a place." Ash mumbled.

Shiki nodded. "Yes, and that is why I suggest you consider going through with Pakura's original plan. She makes good judgement, even if she is not entirely sane, because she cares for her region more than her own life. After all, she wanted to resurrect me, believing that I made a better Leader than she ever would."

"I never thought she'd look down on herself like that." Phillip was saddened.

"Another problem is while Phlox told you to be yourself, which no doubt was told to her by Rosaline, she no longer knew who she was and lost her personality." Shiki went on. "And since she activated the Scarlet Anger, she had been manipulated by Giratina itself, compelling her to steal him from you, amplifying her hate for Rosaline, hence culminating into the plans she had executed."

"Is there a way to save her?" Ash pleaded.

"Not as far as I know. It might be too late for her." Shiki replied. "But that concludes her tale and what I can tell you about her. Now I would like my price."

"Alright, name it." Ash said, though dread was coursing through his veins.

"I'll be taking Paku-chan with me." Shiki announced.

"What?" Phillip was shocked.

"You can't do this!" Jude widened his eyes.

"You promised to pay a price I name." Shiki shrugged, a cold smile on his face. "After all, I am her fiancé, so I have a right to do so."

"You think you have the authority to take her just because of that?" Ash was incredulous, as he kept Jude and Phillip from attacking Shiki.

"And what authority do you have to keep her alive?" Shiki sneered. "After all, you couldn't tell she loved you and you still pinned after Champion Cynthia, who didn't love you for who you are. Who was there for you when you were betrayed? Who believed you never committed the crime? Who risked her positons out of love for you?"

Ash paused, as he knew Shiki had a point. It wasn't Cynthia who were there for him, it wasn't Cynthia who believed in him and believed that he never committed the crime, and it certainly wasn't Cynthia who risked her positions in order for him to stay hidden from the authorities, made measures such as keep his townspeople safe and made sure they are comfortable to make sure Ash would get an acquittal and allowed him a chance to turn his life around.

It was all Pakura.

"Besides, it'll save you the trouble to choose who leaves the Elite, since she'll be with me." Shiki suggested.

"That may be true, but I have to atone for my mistakes and repay her." Ash looked down. "If we lose her, the Elite…no, the region would fall apart. And so will I."

"Is that so….then you'll have to go through me." Shiki smirked, as he extracted his Pactum Card that he had with Pakura, and activated a set of flash gauntlets and greaves and also took out a double-edged sword.

"Then I'll just have to take you out myself." Ash activated a sword that was glowing with aura. Shiki smirked, as they both charged at each other with their respective weapons. "Phillip, Jude, do not interfere."

* * *

Phillip and Jude grimly watched as they listened to the sound of sharpened steel hitting sharpened steel, with the occasional spark from the aura covering Ash's sword.

Shiki was very talented with a sword, which was not a surprise, considering he probably learnt how to wield one ever since he could toddle due to his family's customs. Neither of them gave any openings for long, and the split second openings were quickly lost as the other made his next move. It was a battle of the Princes, the very first Champion and one of the founders of the Elite Four and who could have become the Leader if not for his death.

Phillip and Jude gasped as Shiki blocked Ash's strike with one hand on the sword, and the other hand was on his fan already. But it was too late as Ash was blown away by his Wind Manipulation, causing him to stumble back. The cuts infused into the Wind Manipulation also hit him, causing him to bleed.

'Though he isn't on par with Paku in terms of speed, he is fairly fast and have tricks hidden up his sleeve.' Ash thought, as he activated his Crystal Manipulation, and shot spinning shuriken at Shiki, who simply sliced it with his paper fan.

Ash narrowed his eyes, as he shot boulders from the ground at Shiki, who dodged reflexively. Ash grinned as he made a gesture, and the boulders all rained down on Shiki. Only to realize Shiki himself had blown the rocks away and the wind had shattered them, and he dodged an incoming wind cutter that was headed his way by jumping upwards. Ash widened his eyes as he saw Shiki riding on an aura dragon above him, and jumped out of the way as it exploded into smaller dragons.

'Shit, I can't dodge in mid-air!' Ash thought, hastily forming a barrier around him, though one aura dragon managed to scrape his arm. 'He's a decent fighter alright.' Ash blocked with a crystal sword he conjured up when Shiki flew up to him and struck him with a swift series of punches that shattered the sword easily. However, he did not see the kick that came as Shiki somersaulted in mid-air, causing him to be kicked in the chin.

Ash decided to make use of his telekinesis, prompting a psychic duel between them. Though Shiki was technically the stronger psychic, Ash knew he was immune to some of his attacks and that Shiki doesn't have Psychic Shields. Jude and Phillip tried to run for cover as the telekinetic force was enough to lift them off their feet and Ash and Shiki were not concentrating on them at all.

"Why do you fight so hard, huh?" Shiki glared at him. "You're not the one who took her in, cared for her or loved when no one else wanted her after all. Also, it's not as if you love her anyway."

Ash stopped, as his words stung for some reason, which gave Shiki a chance to fire a telekinetic blow at Ash, sending him flying. Ash got up, angered at falling for Shiki's words, though it was true.

"How low of you to make use of this to attack." Ash commented.

"Well, at least I fight because I genuinely love her, unlike you who simply needed a guide to lead the region and is keeping her because she is useful." Shiki shot back. "Come on, show me your drive to win!"

Ash glared at Shiki, who was also Pakura's very first love, and his current opponent. Was Shiki right in saying he did not love her and he was only wanting her for her abilities? But if he lost this battle, Shiki would take Pakura away, and she would die…

Pakura must have expected to die from the start the moment Ash was investigating the mysteries. That was why she tried so hard to hide it, so she could resurrect Shiki, because she felt Shiki would make the better Leader and hence the better person to lead the region. Perhaps she even wanted Ash to kill her, which was why she inflicted the mind-set that if he had to kill, then do it. Never mind if the person was a friend.

" _Sometimes, when things are dire, you only get one wish. And you hold on to that wish and fight for it so it'll come true. Kill if you must, never mind if it was a friend." Pakura said to Ash. "Your wish is for Cynthia to love you, correct?"_

 _Ash nodded, as he asked, "What is your wish, Paku?"_

" _My wish?" Pakura echoed, and Ash nodded. "I guess my wish is try not to lose myself as I pursue my goals."_

" _What kind of goal is that?" Ash was incredulous, as Pakura shrugged._

'You must have activated Scarlet Anger by then, Paku.' Ash thought. If only he had realised this fact sooner, had found out that his best friend was suffering, he could have saved her, tried and help her supress the Scarlet Anger and even lose it. Instead, she was going to die, and her life was on her fiancé's hands.

"Saved her?" Shiki repeated, as if he had read his mind. "Oh, please, her unrequited love for you would have worsened it anyway." Ash looked up as he blocked the incoming sword attack with his own dagger.

"I know, but…I can't afford to lose her…" Ash trailed off. The thought of Pakura leaving him and being beyond his reach forever until he himself died was too much to bear, and Ash was saddened at the thought.

"Can't lose what? The pleasure she provides you?" Shiki laughed bitterly. "After all, you raped her, didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Ash narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Shiki looked amused. "When you got drunk, you had her bent over the counter and had your way with her. So, did she take you all the way to the hilt, hmm?"

Jude and Phillip looked at Ash with their mouths open.

'I'm so going to have a word with her about omitting this information.' Ash thought, as he said, "I didn't know, but you will be certain I'll be discussing this with her. If you were to ask me to choose between her abilities and her love, I choose her love…it was that very thing that allowed me to be who I am today." Ash narrowed his eyes, as his aura flared. "And you know my answer if you were to ask me who would leave the Elite. I'm sorry Shiki, but I won't let you take Paku away from us...from me."

"Now I'm excited." Shiki saw the flow of aura, nodding with a bored expression on his face. "You're getting serious. Let's try this again."

* * *

The two of them exchanged hand-to-hand combat blows before Ash pivoted and kicked Shiki to the ground, though he got up pretty quickly. Ash and Shiki fired bullets at each other with their guns and they repelled each other, until Shiki changed his mode to laser mode and shot at Ash's bullets, obliterating them and catching Ash off guard, though he managed to create a weak crystal shield, and firing back at Shiki.

Shiki grinned as he spun his sword, catching a bunch of bullets that Ash had fired at him. He then slid his sword along the ground, depositing all of the bullets, perfectly intact, in a neat row. Ash gasped as Shiki swept them up and returned them to Ash with a single swipe of his sword. Ash used his chains to whip the bullets aside, only Shiki teleported and was on his face before he knew it.

Ash grabbed Shiki's arm and burnt it with Lava Manipulation, causing him to stumble back. Ash then spat a globe of lava upwards, obscuring Shiki's vision with the smoke and preventing him from dodging by jumping upwards as the lava rained down on him. However, Shiki managed to make use of his Wind Manipulation to mix it with the lava, and sent it towards Ash, who teleported away, and reappeared behind Shiki as his eyes went somewhat sinister. Suddenly, Shiki accidentally slipped and fell on the lava, burning his knees.

'I am sure my balance was accurate, and he didn't use telekinesis.' Shiki thought, before looking at Ash, who looked somewhat amused. "Ash, do you happen to have the power to cause accidents?"

"You're perspective, I'll give you that." Ash answered. "However, I cannot control the accidents you have, it depends on the environment itself and your current position, and how much injury I can cause is random, though it'll always scar."

"How fitting." Shiki had a mysterious grin. "I am sure you'll like to play some more?" As he said the words, he transmutes his aura into a tangible extension of the body in the form of a dragon, and hurled it at Ash, who jumped up, though Shiki hopped onto the dragon to follow him, and leapt away as he directed it towards a falling Ash, whom he knew could not dodge in mid-air. Though he was hit, Ash took this chance to tie Shiki with the chain on his middle finger, but gasped as he realized it was an illusion.

'Then where is the real Shiki?' Ash thought, as he landed on the ground. His question was answered as he struggled to keep his balance as an earthquake had occurred.

"Why didn't Ash just use his Demonic Bond?" Jude muttered, giving up on trying to catch their movements.

"Shiki is a powerful opponent with a high amount of stamina and Ash knows this as well, since he was the one who gave Pakura some of her powers. It is also risky to use, because Ash could be the one with the lesser amount of aura and using that will kill him." Phillip answered. "Shiki is not someone to underestimate, considering he is fighting Ash on equal grounds despite having less abilities and weapons at his arsenal."

Ash tossed his sword at Shiki, who hit it back with his gauntlet. Both of them started trading blows with their signature abilities, before Ash landed a hit on Shiki, enhanced with his nearly invisible crystal armour, allowing him to perform another attack on him.

"This is going to hurt!" Ash announced, as he knocked Shiki back by giving him an aura-infused kick to the stomach. As he's knocked back, Shiki used telekinesis to steady himself and cut Ash with a wind-infused blade, causing Ash to bleed on the abdomen. Shiki grabbed Ash and spun him around, before jumping high into the air and flung him downwards. Though Ash managed to prevent himself from hitting the ground, there was still an explosion.

"Nothing is stronger than the bond between Paku-chan and I." Shiki shook his head. "Surely you should know from tasting the power of my Pactum Card?"

"Ugh…" Ash stood up, as he spread the flames of explosion away from him, causing Shiki to whistle, though his shock was apparent. Ash knew he was tired from preventing himself from being damaged by the explosion. He touched Shiki, and a bomb appeared.

"Oh, that…" Shiki sighed. "Do you really want to engage in this?"

Ash did not answer, as he engaged Shiki in combat, and just like his fight with Pakura, the bomb got later every time a participant got hit. As the bomb grew larger, Ash jumped back as the bomb exploded on Shiki's side, but Ash found his positions switched with Shiki via teleportation, and he was damaged by the explosion instead. Ash healed all his injuries with the chain on his thumb, as Shiki prepared his fan. Ash prepared his crystal sword infused with aura as both of them charged at each other once more.

Jude and Phillip watched in horror as they sliced in an arc, and both of them landed on their feet. A few minutes later, both of them collapsed on the ground.

"Not too bad, Ashura." Shiki commented as he got up. "However, don't think you've won just yet."

"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you don't take her away." Ash replied quietly.

"Then how about a game and winner gets to take her back with him?" Shiki suggested.

"She's not some kind of betting chip!" Ash glared at him.

Shiki nodded. "She isn't, but I am giving you a chance for me to release you and your friends and take her back with you, since I get to decide when you get out of here. I can easily just imprison you here and let her bleed out and die."

Ash reluctantly nodded, as he knew Shiki was right. Shiki snapped his fingers, and Ash was surprised that they were in a dimension when he saw multiple copies of Pakura with various hairstyles and outfits, and doing a different activity.

'There must be like thousands of her!' Ash thought, looking around at the extremely vast dimension.

"Here's the game: There are ten thousand copies of her in this room, with the various outfits, hairstyles and accessories she had worn in her lifetime. However, only one is the real Pakura." Shiki explained. "And because all of them have the same personality, thoughts and aura signature, you can't use any of your aura or psychic abilities in here. Your goal is to find the real one within an hour. If you succeed, you get a chance to save her. If you lose, I take her away. Use this…" He handed Ash a remote. "To eliminate the ones you think are not real, and press this button." He indicated the red button. "If you eliminate the real one, you lose."

"And does the green button mean selecting the real one?" Ash asked.

"Yup. However, you only get one chance to select who the real one is." Shiki answered. "If you select a fake, you lose as well. You can talk to them, but of course they would have the same voices so you can't find out which one is the real Pakura by voice. Keep in mind the real Pakura can either help or hinder you. And for your information, she is among the clones. I won't stoop so low as to place her somewhere else whereas all of these Pakuras are fake. The faster you find her, the better chance you'll have to save her."

'So, I have to beat the Dragon Duo team, huh?' Ash thought.

"Now, let's see how much you really love her and want to save her. Ready to play, Prince Ashura?" Shiki smirked.

"Bring it on, Prince Shiki." Ash glared at the Dragon Prince, as he went to take a look at the Pakuras in the room. In the distance, Shiki laughed as he started the timer.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of Pakura's mind, a girl dressed in an adorable light pink trench coat, covering the actual outfit she was wearing, and was also wearing sunglasses stepped outside the airport with her luggage, black hair flowing in the wind. She stood under the shelter waiting for the taxi she had booked to take her to Luonto City with her Rotom.

"The spirits are always a good source of intel…" The girl muttered to herself, removing her sunglasses, revealing emerald green eyes. "It looks like I'll have to fulfil my promise to you sooner than I thought, Pakura Ameyuri."

 **BP: And I'll end the chapter here, and mark the end of Season 1. (Please read below)**

 **Let's see if Ash has enough intelligence to beat Shiki at his own game, considering Shiki is a genius, though he is no Phillip in terms of intelligence that's for sure, but it's enough to be one of the smartest Elite members if he was part of the Elite. Maybe that's where Pakura got her intelligence from. So here are the questions for you to think about and voice your opinions:**

 **1\. Who should/would win this twisted battle for Pakura's life? Shiki or Ash?**

 **2\. If the above answer is Ash, how do you want Ash to beat Shiki in this game? (This is important for my next chapter, since I have no idea how Ash should beat Shiki at his own game)**

 **3\. Was Shiki right in the fact that one of the Elite members has to leave? If so, why do you think so? If not, why not?**

 **And it looks like a lot of explanation needs to be done.**

 **Sorry for putting too many references from other media, since Pakura Goldstein actually has the ability to travel through time and dimensions and it transferred to Amethyst when she was experimented upon in the form of Accidental Magic, though she lost the Accidental Magic once she was able to manifest abilities and control her aura and psychic powers.**

 **So, the answer is yes, I did put in other references, don't ask (hold hands up). I don't really want to put it as a crossover since you know…it's not really one because it's not happening in the present? Ah, even I'm confused.**

 **I decided to pick two timelines and places via the Draw Lots online and listed all the anime and games that I know and well, the results are all up there in order to show a character development and learn some crucial information pertaining to her region that they might make use of later. I couldn't decide so I decided to randomize.**

 **However, while the memories shown are real, do note that Pakura would not remember most of them due to Scarlet Anger as they may be distorted and buried under all the false memories created, though whether or not she can remember what memories are real and what is not and being able to remember what actually happened after she loses Scarlet Anger would remain to be seen.**

 **Akeno is actually a character created by both Core AI and myself, and she will be appearing in the upcoming fanfiction story we would be writing together, so you'll see her again, that's for sure and I may replace Rosaline with her in all my other stories. I have created a wikia page and put a teaser description on her and her type specialities so you'll have a good idea on what kind of Elite she would make if she was to be an Elite member. I don't feel right (never did actually) including Rosaline in all the stories as she is not my OC, and she just gives me the reminder that it was a friendship fallen apart every time I write a chapter with her on it and it's emotionally tiring to write her in the story. I'll still try to work in her character development in this story before I write her off though. Rosaline, while she is a cheerful and sweet person no doubt and bright as well, is a bit pampered from her upbringing since her family is above middle class and hence she is used to the comfort and benefits and didn't really see things from other people's perspective.**

 **Perhaps in a later chapter, I would sent the Elites back there to retrieve the Maga Chest, as it is still hidden there and no one had found it yet so that they can restore the magical power in Caldia City which is in hibernation. I am not sure if it should be on screen or off screen though (well it is technically in another dimension with characters outside of Pokémon). And whether Pakura actually remembers her time where she was almost used as a key remains to be seen. And if I get any information wrong, it's because I don't actually play video games. I mainly watch cut scenes and read the wikia to gain information.**

 **Speaking of which, I started to have an interest in One Piece and Fairy Tail after watching the Death Battle series between Zoro and Erza. I suppose I do have to support their analysis and research that helped them decide the outcome of the battle.**

 **I have another story idea where I'll do a rewrite of the One Piece storyline where many years ago prior to the One Piece storyline, Ash (who is married to Amethyst) had created a glowing aura fruit which contained his own aura and psychic abilities and sent it into another dimension using his aura so that it would not fall into the hands of the greedy to help a special person to unlock their dormant psychic and aura powers (though in the strict condition that the aura and psychic powers must belong to his wife Amethyst), before dying of unknown means.**

 **Of course, the Red-Haired pirates retrieved it from thieves along with the Gomu Gomu No Mi, and Luffy ate them both (being the curious idiot he was) and he found himself his canon powers along with aura and psychic powers and found himself with a Guardian Angel (invisible to everyone else) that is also known as Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum, who informed him that only those who have inherited his wife's aura and psychic powers can even touch the aura fruit he made and that his wife's aura and psychic powers currently reincarnated into Luffy.**

 **Also, instead of Ace and Sabo rescuing Luffy from Porchemy, Luffy's psychic powers saved him by ripping him apart the moment he screamed, killing Porchemy and traumatizing Luffy. Shiki Ketchum (first son of Ash and Amethyst, named after Amethyst's late fiancé and the current Prince of the region) found him and took him back to his home in the PAL Region as he was alerted by the fact that he detected his parents' aura and decided to train and raise him himself, and Luffy learns more about the Pokémon culture and world and find out what psychic and aura powers he possessed were and the fact that they can be manifested into abilities.**

 **Fortunately, he had Ash as his guide and advisor as to what he should do next and was renamed Ketchum D. Luffy and was trained alongside his children and also met the previous Elites' children and learn about the history of the legendary generation of Elites (consisting of Jude, Akeno, Phillip and Amethyst, whose aura and psychic powers he had inherited) and more about the first Champion Ash, who is also his current Guardian Angel.**

 **Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo thought Luffy had died and made a gravestone for him where he had been taken, and made him a sworn brother in his memory as he had not told Porchemy about their hidden treasure. Luffy decided to be the King of the Pirates and find the legendary treasure One Piece as he had not given up on his dreams as opposed to being a Pokémon Trainer, which Shiki decided to let him train and be taught some more knowledge for a few more years as he knew being a Pirate is as dangerous as the missions of a Treasure and Deep Sea Hunters.**

 **However, Luffy's goals changed slightly as he wished to bring the legendary treasure back to the home region so that no one would taint the legacy of the region he lives in as he knew just how much they value it. As he spent a lot of time with Ash and due to the fact that Amethyst's aura and psychic powers were reincarnated into him, he had also learnt how to use some of Amethyst's weapons especially her sword style (something that had been passed down throughout the generations) in addition to developing some psychic and aura abilities. However, the downside was unless he had fully mastered his Devil Fruit powers and psychic and aura abilities, he cannot use both Devil Fruit and Aura/Psychic powers at the same time, for his body might not be able to take the strain and can kill him.**

 **When Luffy finally returns to his old hometown ready to start his journey and packed with everything he would ever need (thanks to Shiki Ketchum) along with his Guardian Angel Ash who will be there to guide the person who inherited his wife's aura and psychic powers, though only he can see him he was still a cheerful and lovable boy with the good luck of growing into a supernatural beauty inherited from Ash's wife Amethyst (and attracting both guys and girls alike), but beneath that mask lies a calculating, independent, smart and distant personality from his past and the teachings instilled into him and one that keeps secrets, even from his friends as he had also inherited some of Amethyst's personality traits and skills outside of combat. His morals may be questionable, but one thing is for sure- He will be the Pirate King.**

 **I doubt Luffy would own any Pokémon. As for pairing wise, I probably go for yaoi considering Luffy is thought of as cute and attractive and even the boys want him. It doesn't hurt that he is cooler, calmer and colder in this (not to mention smarter) and actually thinks before he acts and is really good in psychology and strategy. Not to mention, he can use weapons and hand-to-hand combat if he can't use any of his abilities in battle, including the Devil Fruit ones thanks to his training with Amethyst, Ash and Shiki (their son, not Amethyst's deceased fiancé). Who won't be attracted to him?**

 **However, he have to keep his aura/psychic abilities and adopted heritage a secret as the World Government or those Marines or whatever would stop at nothing to try and find out his secrets behind possessing them so they can gain it for themselves.**

 **Yeah, it's RoyalShipping (what else?), since I am on board with Ash being with Amethyst. I originally thought she'd go well with Lance or Steven, but after seeing all you readers ship Ash and Pakura, I started to like them together. It's your fault! *points to the readers***

 **It's not really a crossover, just a reference or two, since Ash and Amethyst are already dead in the story, though they will appear in forms of dreams and Luffy will learn more about them via those since he did have Amethyst's aura and psychic powers and he has Ash to guide him until he is able to master all his abilities fully.**

 **Oh yeah, and do check out the poll Core AI had out. It's on a side project he's working on with me, alongside the main Pokémon fanfic. And for you RoyalShipping fans, the main pairing for that upcoming Pokémon fanfic is of course, RoyalShipping. Bonus news is that Ash will be Pakura's first and only love in the story.**

 **I know, this chapter is of bad quality (I anyhow wrote some scenes as I want it to be different), and I actually didn't dare post this chapter for a long time when I finished it, as I kept wondering if I should post this. Furthermore, I had no idea what I was writing half the time especially during the memories scene (which takes up half the chapter), but do review, favourite and follow.**

 **Also, I wish my readers a very Happy New Year!**


	14. Fading Mind: Mayfly-December Romance

**BP: I know it has been a long while since I updated, but I recently started working (to kill time, since my graduation ceremony isn't until May and I finished my Final Semester already). Hence, I won't have so much time to devote to the Fanfiction Project. I would have posted this last week, but I was sick for almost a week so I had to rest in bed.**

 **Of course, I would not want to see my classmates during the holidays to hang out. No way am I sitting through the humiliation of them bringing up the past that almost always involved me in the pretence of going out. It's to rest and relax, they said. Only the meeting place is always so far from my house (as usual). As if they never considered where I live and then I already get tired from travelling there and back home. Besides, every time they go out they always do the exact same thing, which really bores me.**

 **Thanks, but I rather go to work. Speaking of work** , **they are even asking me about my work and my working hours. As if they are concerned, which they are not. I know they just want ammunition to bring up once we meet again in graduation or something (because I certainly don't want to see them during the holidays). With their previous antics I mentioned (that's only a fraction), they still wonder why I don't want to hang out with them outside of school. Really?** **Anyway I kept leaving a group that consisted of those ppl and me, and when I left too many times without saying a word due to not wanting any contact, (I don't have anything to say to them actually) one finally added me back, said, "No wonder you have no friends" and removed me just like that.**

 **I have not abandoned the project, since I was behind the scenes making new concepts for the PAL Series. Also, I have cleaned up my Wikia page somewhat, putting the characters' info in a tab style so the information is better sorted out. Do check it out and edit if you can, since I have been doing it all by myself** **. Maybe one day my stories would appear in the TV Tropes page, who knows?**

Ash was getting frustrated. It's been more than half an hour and he only managed to eliminate like a hundred of Pakuras, and that was only because he noticed the extremely slight differences from the actual hairstyle, accessories and outfit. Also, as it was from memory, Ash had to rely on his luck as well, though it seemed to be running out, since his eyes can't focus and remember the minute details. Shiki was walking alongside him, watching his movements and nibbling on the chocolates one of the Pakuras had made for him.

'This is not good.' Ash thought, starting to feel the hopelessness of the situation he is currently in. 'I'm this close to being beaten to a pulp by Shiki, and at this rate, Paku will...but I've come so far...I can't lose here…can I?'

"Consider yourself schooled, Prince Ash." Shiki shook his head. "No way can you find the real one among all the clones within an hour! The person who loves her always has been and it always will be me."

"Damn it...Just wait a minute!" Ash gritted his teeth.

"Poor Paku-chan." Shiki gave a small smile. "She must seriously regret having fallen for you, considering you pinned for Cynthia. Sure, she's beautiful, strong and have a good heart, but seriously misguided when it comes to your innocence and never even heard you out for the sake of her public image. How painful it must be for Paku, if her Scarlet Anger is any indication."

"Ugh…" Ash glared at Shiki, as some of the Pakuras looked up from whatever they are doing.

"Not only did you fail to see what is right in front of you with your psychic powers, you also almost killed the one that would believe in you until the very end. You have no right to call yourself PAL's Champion." Shiki's eyes turned cold. Ash swore some of their eyes held disappointment in them.

"Shut up!" Ash shouted repeatedly, as he held his head, trying to shake that disappointment he saw in their eyes. 'Don't tell me I've failed once again…failed to save someone near and dear to me...I've worked so hard to be who I am now, and even became a Hunter to help upkeep the law and protect the region. Has it all been for naught? Am I just doomed to relive that all over again?' He had flashes of his betrayal, which froze him.

" _That expression doesn't suit you."_ A familiar voice rang in his head.

'Paku?' Ash thought, but no one had spoken.

" _It's not over yet, Ash._ _So_ _stop your bleating this instant. Do you know you look like an utter fool?"_ Ash saw an image of an irritated Pakura with her arms folded in his mind.

" _There is someone who awaits you, someone who you want to win over, is there not? That is the reason you have trained and studied so hard. Are you prepared to give up on all you have worked for thus far? No way would you win Cynthia's heart with how you look currently."_

Ash looked up at an emotionless Shiki, and he could almost see Shiki's supporting partner next to him, musing silently to herself as she watches certain developments unfold, hiding her true thoughts and feelings behind her dazzling smile.

" _Listen here Ash, all you have to do is calm down, take a deep breath and look back over what you know so far. If there's answers to be found, which there always is, you're sure to find it and use it against your opponents. Now, let me see you pull the trump card!"_

'Thank you, Paku…' Ash thought. "I am psyched and ready to play. Prepare for your utter defeat, Prince Shiki!" With that, he closed his eyes, and began to look over what he knew about Paku via his memories of her, both the good times and the bad.

As he went through them thoroughly however, he realized he was blinded by his past, and his love for Cynthia. After all, Pakura was always there, a constant in his life that he could never lose, not Cynthia. All he saw was darkness when he tried to imagine a future without her by his side. In that moment, he just knew how much Pakura meant to him and how much he can love her. Because she deserved it.

A tug at his heart, and Ash knew he actually had the method to beat the game. As Ash opened his eyes, he grinned at Shiki, who frowned.

"You should be happy, Ash." One of the Pakuras spoke up, looking up from making chocolates. "I don't really want you to fight for something you never wanted."

"Thank you, but I know what I want." Ash announced.

Something flickering caught Ash's eye, and he realized that a thin golden string was tied to his wrist. It was extremely faint, and it was just becoming even fainter. Ash knew that the bond they had was on the verge of crumbling, and he was determined to save it, restore it and improve it.

"Ten minutes left, Prince Ash." Shiki reminded.

Ash started running like someone with a new crush and who knows? Maybe he was. The barely perceptible golden string was the very trump card he needed to beat Shiki at his own game. His eyes traced the path of the golden string, and knew that the real Pakura must be on the other end. He ignored the other Pakuras, and it lead him to a corner of the room, though it was when the golden string disappeared. However, due to the distance he covered, he wasted half his remaining time.

'No…I can't lose here!' Ash thought, looking at the countdown clock, which said he had only five minutes left, as there were a few other Pakuras there, doing various activities as usual, chatting to each other. Ash felt a stab of pity. It's almost as if she was talking to herself. Perhaps she even did so when she had Scarlet Anger. As some of them walked past him, he noticed one of them holding a pink box, and as if on instinct, stopped her.

"Yes?" The Pakura whom Ash stopped said, her tone rather flat. Ash thought she sounded sad. She was wearing a skinny headband along with a short light blue satiny dress, complete with a frilly cravat on her neck.

"May I see the box?" Ash requested.

"Alright…" She reluctantly handed him the box, and Ash noted that it was indeed a very beautiful box. It was heart-shaped and pink in colour, with a teddy bear that was wearing a pink sewn dress and a glued on tiara in the middle and decorated with fake pink and red roses and lace adorning it. When Ash opened it, it was revealed to have a mirror on the inside of the lid. It was clear that it was handmade, as Ash noticed a note hidden behind a mini heart-shaped cushion held by the teddy bear. When he took it out, he read:

 _-actually possesses this charm that attracts Pokémon to her. They are all really friendly towards her, it's like she's born to do this. Personally, I think their minds are going when they said she's cursed._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Shiki._

"Ok, I don't need to search any further." Ash declared, pointing the remote at the miserable-looking Pakura in front of him and pressing the green button, just as the timer ran out. "You are the real Pakura."

Pakura's expression turned to horror, as Shiki was stunned. Before he knew it, Pakura ran over to Shiki as she started crying, and Shiki embraced her with a grim expression on his face.

"I tried, Shi-chan!" Pakura sobbed. "I tried so hard to hide! I don't want to go!"

'Of course.' Ash thought, hanging his head, trying hard to hold back his tears at Pakura's heartbroken voice. 'I was too late.'

"A promise is a promise." Shiki muttered to her. "You have to go."

"I want to stay here…with you." Pakura shook her head. "No one needs me over there."

Ash wanted to shout, "No, that's not true, I need you!" but he knew that Pakura would dismiss it as a joke. Ash felt disgusted with himself at that thought, and angered that Shiki had a special place in her heart, judging by the tender moment they are exchanging now. It was so clear that Shiki loved her very much to the point that he would sacrifice himself again if it meant her happiness.

"I underestimated you." Shiki said, smiling sadly as he led Pakura to him. "You do love her. I knew the moment I saw the gold thread I would lose the game."

Ash stayed silent, as Shiki went on, "While I'll let you out of her mind and let you take her back with you, I forgot to mention it depends on her willpower if you truly want her to be by your side."

"What?" Ash was shocked at the implication. "You lied to me?"

"I only said I would give you a chance to save her. I never said that I would help you bring her back to you. There's a difference you know." Shiki smirked. "Also, time is running out for her. You'll have to find a way to save her from that terrible power yourself. As a reward though, I'll allow you three questions."

"Is there another way to find out the properties of Scarlet Anger?" Ash asked.

"Yes. There is this fairy tale about the Red-Eyed Warriors in the PAL Region." Shiki said. "While it is considered a myth and legend, there is some truth to it. After all, Giratina, the so-called creator of it is like what? A few hundred years old? Scarlet Anger is not its original name after all. You should read up about it sometime. Alright, next question."

"What was Paku's special ability before she got corrupted?" Ash enquired.

"Let's just say that the people were not really wrong to call her cursed from her special ability." Shiki frowned. "She brings misfortune wherever she goes as part of it. Unlike most special abilities, hers is always active and uncontrollable. It always led to incidents of varying direness."

"Like my Accident Causation?" Ash said quietly.

"No. You cause accidents to your chosen targets. Her special ability does not discriminate whom it affects. It'll just target whomever is near her at that time. Also, her misfortune doesn't always scar, unlike yours where all accidents will scar." Shiki explained. "It's good in a fight, but only if she fights her opponents alone. She didn't activate it until my death though. Last question."

"How are you here?" Ash asked.

"I transferred my life force to her as I transferred my powers. I'm the one keeping her real memories and this is how I get to be here. Also, had I not transferred my life force, she would have died a long time ago. So you can tell how much Scarlet Anger had eaten away at her life." Shiki muttered. "Alright, you win this time, Prince Ash. Only the price you guys pay for that would be that she knows all of your secrets, including Phillip and Jude. Also, that nightmares would go to all of you instead of her."

"Small price to pay." Ash said dismissively. "I'm sure they would agree."

"Mark my words, if you don't save her from that dangerous power…let's just say you better treasure the little time you have with her." Shiki sighed. "I just want her to be happy."

"Thank you. For telling us everything." Ash bowed.

"You're welcome." Shiki smiled. "Goodbye, Prince Ashura."

"Farewell, Dragon Prince Shiki." Ash smiled back.

When Ash woke up, he decided to return Pakura her powers, hoping her Regenerative Healing Factor can save her, while telling his Pikachu and Lucario to watch over his other members, since he can handle this himself. For good measure, he carried Pakura and took her to the hospital to see if she can be helped.

However, just as he was about to take her out the door, Pakura's eyes opened, and looked around, bewildered. Her face registered disbelief and something more intense that Ash couldn't name. Was it desire? Desperation?

Ash's lips was just forming her name when her fingers locked around his throat.

* * *

They thought it would be a fairy tale

 _(Ash quietly watching from the top of the hills as the traitors hypocritically walking through the forest like they had did nothing wrong)_

No, it seems they were just delusional

 _(Ash's eyes was projected at the background and the said eyes opened)_

They'd fix their lives

 _(The traitors happily talking to Cynthia in a café, not knowing that Jude was in the corner, making a call to someone as he watched the traitors)_

Then be on their way to their happy ending

 _(Akeno watching the traitors from the shadows with spirits around her)_

They shall realize life

 _(The traitors being summoned to court, with Ash sitting in the Judge's seat with a gavel, Pakura standing at his side, using her illusions to manipulate the traitors to admit their deed.)_

Was never like a bedtime story

 _(Ash slamming the gavel on the traitors before they can react, as the scene shatters to reveal the five people standing on stones of various height, looking down at the traitors)_

And then they will learn

 _(The camera focuses on the order of the height of the stones they are standing on. Jude, who is smirking at them, Akeno, who playfully smiles, Phillip, who narrowed his eyes, Pakura, who opened her red eyes that turned back to amethyst and looked away, holding her left arm and Ash who glared at them hatefully)_

That PAL is no place for backstabbers

 _(Ash fires a gun at the screen)_

And it seems we weren't prepared

 _(Pakura practicing her sword skills, but suddenly sees Shiki and a happier version of herself clinging to his arm. A distressed Pakura falls to her knees in Ash's room as her telekinesis started levitating everything around her.)_

To Pay the Ultimate Price

 _(Pakura falls into a black pit with a silhouette in the background, while various demoniac creatures appear, as they were engulfed by blue fire.)_

Can We Persevere?

 _(Ash stands on the bowsprit of a ship, as the other Elite members stand behind him)_

Actually move on?

 _(Diantha placing her hand on Phillip's, smiling at him)_

When all hope is gone

 _(Ash walking over to a depressed Pakura sitting on his bed and tenderly cupped her cheek as she looked up. The camera focuses on her eyes as she narrowed them slightly in contemplation)_

There is one thing we can do

 _(Shiki walking away from a gravestone that is placed with a bouquet of flowers)_

Let's fight on!

 _(Ash's Decidueye battling Lance's Dragonite)_

Day by day and not be consumed by our sorrows

 _(Pakura and Cynthia about to face off, and throwing Pokéballs to reveal their Pokémon)_

Our past won't hold us down

 _(Pakura activating her new Pactum Card and donning a pink fairy-like armour and a pair of dual swords that comes with it to fight a silhouetted opponent holding a katana)_

We will break free

 _(Phillip practicing his abilities with the help of his machete and making all metal objects fly around him)_

Though our hearts are torn

 _(Ash and his Elites being surrounded by a new threat, five giant head silhouettes smirking down at them as they prepared their abilities)_

But Love and Time will help

 _(Ash walking in the forest with Pikachu and Lucario, and turns around)_

Move onward, don't give up

 _(Pakura, Phillip, Akeno and Jude standing behind him, as Pakura offers him a hand)_

So let's fight on!

 _(Five of them standing together on a tundra with their respective weapons and walking Pokémon, backs turned and looking forward. Ash and Pakura were holding hands.)_

(Sung in the tune of Let's Just Live by Casey Williams)

* * *

Ash opened his eyes, finding himself in a hospital room. He realized he was wearing a collar, and the cold collar chafed his neck, making the shivering even harder to control. Akira was sitting next to him, looking grim.

Ash widened his eyes as he registered the situation, and tried to remove his collar, wanting the assurance that he still can breathe, but Akira stopped him. "No, Prince Red." Akira said, grabbing Ash's hands gently. "No, you're swollen. Don't touch."

That made Ash panic even more, as he struggled to get out of Akira's grip. "No, no, no. Calm down." Akira said soothingly. "Calm down. You're okay."

"Paku…" Ash rasped.

"Don't try to talk." Akira replied. "The Princess is okay. I promise. We just had to get her off you." It turned out to be Akira who knocked her out with one blow before any damage could be done by pressing the right pressure point on her neck. Apparently, Ran saw something was going to happen, causing them to go up the Tower, only to see Pakura strangling Ash, prompting Akira's action and bringing them to the hospital.

"Our team's concerns of damage to your spinal cord, veins and arteries have all been allayed. No permanent damage, though the bruising, the sore larynx and your cough is not something big to worry about. We've seen a lot more injuries among the Hunters-in-training when they teach choke holds, anyway." Akira shrugged. "Chairman William have already arranged to postpone the Top 16, until all of you recover, so don't worry about that."

Ash rasped a few times first before saying hoarsely, "Please…tell…me, how's Paku?"

"She'll be fine…physically, at least. We did try to talk to her, but…" Akira frowned, as he thought back.

" _Princess?" Ran said tentatively when she woke up, looking around to register her surroundings. She waited for a moment, but when she received no response from Pakura, she shot her a sad look as she got up._

" _Ran." Pakura said curtly. Ran sat back down, and Pakura turned her head to look at Ran, expression unreadable. Ran hugged her, as she said, "I'm so glad you're okay!"_

 _Pakura pushed her away with telekinesis, disgust evident in her face. It's evident she hated the optimism Ran was displaying. "I'm not. I lost everything the moment…" She cut herself off as she looked at the pendant Shiki gave her on the bedside. "No, he isn't gone. He said he'd come back for me."_

" _What are you talking about?" Ran asked._

" _It's none of your business." Pakura snapped. "Just leave me alone." Ran slowly left the room, but she paused in the doorway and telling her one last thing. "We'll be here to help if you need it."_

 _As she left, he swore she heard Pakura say, "I don't need your pity."_

"Would you like to see her?" Akira asked.

Ash nodded.

* * *

Pakura sat alone in one of the Class S wards, staring out a window. Her pendant was resting on the nightstand next to the bed. For a long time now, she didn't really do anything but sit propped up on her hospital bed, or more often, huddled under the blankets on the bed, eyes fixed on some point in the distance out the window. She didn't seem to want to do anything or talk to anyone at all, and according to Akira, took only mere bites of her served meals. Her Sylveon and Espeon tried to talk to her but to no avail.

Ash stood outside her room, pressing his hand against the glass, knowing Pakura did not wish to see him, and let the tears freely flow down his face as he can't even go in to see her since she requested the doctor not to let him or anyone else in.

"It's subtle, but we have noticed her deterioration in terms of her mental health. Obviously, she had been through a lot of trauma, and we originally put her psychological state down to that, and diagnosed her with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depression Disorder and even Schizophrenia. However, we believe something more was going on. That something called Scarlet Anger was worsening and messing with her mind even further. I am pretty afraid she is might develop Psychosis at the rate this is going." Akira explained.

When Ash stayed silent, Akira went on, "We don't know how long the Scarlet Anger has been changing and distorting her memories. But it's likely it subjected her to some fear conditioning. Stripping down her identity and then all of that suffering and fear she had is redirected or even amplified. Recall is made more difficult because memories can actually be changed." He tapped his forehead. "It can be brought to the forefront of someone's mind, altered, and saved again in the revised form. I am sure Scarlet Anger made it enough to infuse all her good and happy memories with fear and doubt. Furthermore, it amplified her negative memories and even distorted them so that she would only have solace in that Scarlet Anger. Her brain likely put in a long-term storage of that, and at that point, I don't think she can tell what is real and what is not. It's likely it had changed some memories of you to make you seem life threatening and it's especially effective if you have fought with her before."

Ash started to feel sick, as he asked, "Is that what Giratina did to her? Taken her memories, distorted and altered them through Scarlet Anger so it can control her as a weapon or something?"

"Yes, that's our current theory." Akira nodded.

Ash's head was cradled in his hands, trying to supress a scream because this wasn't happening. For this to make Pakura forget the fact that she loves him…no one could do that. Or so he thought.

"You can reverse it, right?" Ash pleaded, not caring about the condition of his throat.

"There's very little data on that." Akira admitted. "None, really. I mean, you seen all those Scarlet Anger users. They all died before they turn thirty and none of them had a known lover or spouse. Not even Princess Pakura Goldstein made it through, though she did live to be in her fifties. If the rehabilitation had been attempted on any of them, we have no access to those records."

"Well, you're going to try, aren't you?" Ash persisted. "You can't just lock her in some luxurious padded room and leave her to suffer like this!"

"Of course we'll try, Prince Red." Akira replied. "It's just that we don't know to what degree we'll succeed. If any. My guess is that fearful events and amplified bad memories are the hardest to root out. But in order to help her, we need to know how far Scarlet Anger has affected her and which memories had not been tampered. Even if she recovers, she might not be the same again…"

As Ash looked away, Akira said, "If possible, we should also find out more about the history of it. There are some ancient writings on stone slabs that Mika and Ken have found from various archaeological sites that may have said something about Scarlet Anger, but we can't even read it as it's in an ancient language."

Ash opened his mouth to say something, but Akira cut him off. "I'll advice you to rest your throat and only speak if you need to. You'll only make it worse. Don't worry about anything else now."

* * *

Later, Ash was discharged with instructions to try not to speak too much as his throat was still sore and it might be painful if he swallows. He headed straight to Pakura's new room with the card key. The new room was connected to his, and he knew Pakura mentioned that she kept most of the books and notes belonging to Pakura Goldstein, which was probably where he should look for more clues as to what Scarlet Anger really entails, seeing Pakura Goldstein was a former user herself. Perhaps the First Princess knew how it came about and how it can be controlled or disposed of as a power.

'Fairy-tale books?' Ash was incredulous, as he noticed that the books Pakura kept had some illustrations on them and they were rather thin as well. 'I didn't know Paku was into fairy…wait…'

" _We have fairy tales that are different from other regions and uniquely our own. Although they are generally regarded as mere myths and legends, some of them actually have a factual basis on our history. Some of them were once common knowledge, but the truth was eventually kept secret for safety's sake, and it passed into legend and obscurity over time." Pakura said._

Ash started to read all the fairy-tales that she had, but was somewhat disappointed as they were all the stories Pakura had told him during bedtime, to comfort him, when they were travelling together and reading them in detail did not help him in his investigation. Until he read the book which talked about the Red-Eyed Warriors which Shiki had mentioned to him.

Apparently, they are legendary warriors that existed even before the regions discovery. It is said that they are able to strike down evil creatures, no matter the power they have just by looking at them and that evil actually feared them. The Devil's Eyes, which was the term coined for the red eyes, was said to be a gift from Giratina who would pass it down from person to person in hopes that the warriors could protect the Pokémon World and maintain peace. Furthermore, the Red-Eyed Warriors are special in the sense that they can even read the ancient languages currently write on the stone slabs, making them good informants.

'No way…if Giratina really created it that means it can change its properties before gifting it. It must have tampered with the gift before Pakura Goldstein's time, and looked for someone who felt hopeless so that it can control the person through the gift it bestowed!' Ash gritted his teeth. 'Looks like the only person left in the world who can read those slabs Akira mentioned is Paku.'

Also, there was the Maga Chest Shiki talked about, the key to restore Caldia City's dormant magical power and its former glory to add the manpower to their region. It looked like it would be difficult, considering where Pakura Goldstein hid it and those creatures were no joke. Furthermore, it was clear only Pakura herself would be able to find it and open it, and someone else knew it all too well. Wait a minute…

'Shiki can hold his own briefly and they're not immune to psychic powers…' Ash thought. 'Vergil may possess demonic powers, but it's because of that demonic powers or at least his evil heart that brings with it a crippling weakness: The power of the Red-Eyed Warriors. Giratina was said to be created by them before escaping and being taken in as a Pokémon. The Devil's Eyes was likely originally a symbol of power, but when Giratina became a Pokémon…he bestowed it to the humans. But Giratina must have lost its faith of them not abusing it and made it so that they would suffer from the great power and allowing it to control them. It looks like Paku is the key to retrieving that Maga Chest successfully…'

Ash looked out the window, as he shook his head. 'The Chest can wait. My first priority is to make sure everyone recovers first….especially Paku. What's this?' At that moment, Ash discovered a file among her fairy tale books. To his surprise, it was the paperwork Pakura was supposed to submit to the Hunter's Association to validate so that Rosaline can be an official member of the Elite.

'Knowing her, she must have mocked the application by putting it among fairy tale books for a laugh and probably forgot to submit them altogether. It's likely she would only submit it if Rosaline proved to her that she was worthy of the position. This means Rosaline wasn't an official member all along. Then again, she had no claim to the position in the first place.' He decided to keep the paperwork with him as evidence and made a decision to visit the other members to see how they are doing. But first, a nap would reenergize him nicely.

" _Paku, we have a lot to talk about." Shiki said, as he returned to the cave, looking somewhat disappointed in himself. Pakura, who was reading a book came running up to him like a wife would do to her husband and helped him take off his coat. On the table was already prepared tea for the both of them to enjoy._

" _What's going on?" Pakura asked Shiki, worry creased in her face._

" _Come on, we'll sit down and talk." Shiki answered. When they did, he asked, "Paku, what is your favourite fairy tale from the ones I told you?"_

" _Erm….let me think." Pakura said, thinking back. "Well, there's Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Caldia Princess…"_

" _What about The Story of the Balance?" Shiki prompted._

" _I love that most of all." Pakura gushed._

" _Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?" Shiki said, as Pakura and her Eevee looked at each other._

" _I beg your pardon, Shi-chan?" Pakura tilted her head._

" _What if I told you that there were really two people holding this title that existed in this world that could wield such tremendous power, something that exceeds other aura users and that there are two substitutes called the Dragon's Champion and the Season Maiden waiting to receive those powers should anything happen to them?"_

" _Dragon's Champion?" Pakura was puzzled. "Why are they called that?"_

" _Well, the Dragon is actually originally a term for a person or monster a hero has to get past to get at the boss, you know. Most of the time, they are the evil leader's top enforcer." Shiki explained. "Only the Dragon's Champion is the so-called Dragon to the Chosen One, as the Dragon's Champion is the substitute for the Chosen One. Of course, the title can be changed, depending on the Pokémon type the person holding the title is most affiliated to."_

" _But why are bring it up now?" Pakura asked._

" _Because I believe you are next in line to receive the Phoenix's powers. You are the Season Maiden after all." Shiki said grimly. "Come with me, Paku."_

* * *

" _Where are we going?" Pakura asked, as Shiki took her to the Hunter Association's elevator, where he typed in a password and they descended downwards._

" _The vault located under this building." Shiki replied. The elevator continued downward towards the vertical tunnel of dark blue lights until the door opened. Both of them stepped out, as Pakura and Eevee looked around the large, sparsely-lit hallway she was now being lead through._

" _I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the power of the Phoenix. What do you mean by that?" Pakura asked, as she walked next to Shiki._

" _As you know, those two roles, or four if you count the substitutes, have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the hosts change. When the Chosen One or the Phoenix dies, the power leaves their body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the balance is never lost."_

" _So, how are those two chosen? Or the four of them?" Pakura was curious._

" _The selection process was quite complicated. All I know is that the Chosen One is usually the one representing the light side, or so Arceus said. That is why the Phoenix represented the Dark Side, despite it being grey. So for Chosen Ones, they have to have a pure heart while for the Phoenix, it's the resolve to never give up, with a few dark personality traits but at the end of the day having good intentions."_

" _What about their substitutes?" Pakura asked._

" _The same goes for the Dragon Champion and the Season Maiden, though their roles of being light and dark are not fixed as it depends on the criteria the person with the title will be able to fulfil should they become the Chosen One or the Phoenix." Shiki explained._

" _I see." Pakura nodded._

" _As we understand it now, when either the Chosen One or the Phoenix dies, the one with the title of the Dragon Champion or Season Maiden would inherit the power depending on the side they represent, and their title would go to someone random that fits the criteria I had mentioned earlier. The thing is due to the criteria it's actually much harder to choose a Chosen One than the Phoenix, and there can be a circumstance where the substitutes are deemed unfit to receive the powers of the Chosen One due to the fact that it required a pure heart which is something very few people have. In this case, Arceus would look into the babies going to be born and into their future and bestow the power to someone who would have a pure heart. That is why some people are born into the title of Chosen One." Shiki went on._

" _Does it mean the Chosen Ones are more powerful than the Phoenixes?" Pakura frowned._

" _Essentially, since the Chosen One have the ability to actually keep the balance for a while should the Phoenix be indisposed, barely long enough for the new Phoenix to be selected. So both of them do still need the other to keep the balance indefinitely, as it's better to work together, just like you and I." Shiki said._

" _So why tell me all of this now?" Pakura was confused._

" _Because the current host of the Phoenix has been attacked and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen." Shiki said grimly, as both of them reached the end of the hallway. A large machine with lit screens hooked up to a rectangular pod with a glass window to show a young girl with red hair dressed in a hospital gown, eyes closed as if she was sleeping._

" _Is that..." Pakura started._

" _The current Phoenix. Flamma." Shiki answered._

" _She's...still alive." Pakura commented. "Do you think I could-?"_

" _For now. But using your healing power won't work. It's because of the fact that her power is split that she is like this. We're using state of the art PAL technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about the current situation that is...unprecedented."_

" _No one's seen the power split like this before, right? You're afraid it might seek out its other half, which would go to her assailant." Pakura realized._

" _Yes. That would not bode well for any of us." Shiki smiled a little at his Pakura's intelligence, before his expression turned serious. "But this would not do if the balance of the world if it's affected. Arceus told me that it would cause panic on a huge scale. Which is why I would like to..."_

 _He was cut off as Pakura said, "I'll do it. If you believe that this will help save the Pokémon World then I will become the new Phoenix. I love this region, I love Pokémon and I love you! I don't want to lose all of these because of some stupid scheme this attacker hatched."_

 _Shiki looked at her in surprise, before smiling. "And I love you. But, given her condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. But I believe I have a solution."_

" _Your Power Transference Ability." Pakura whispered._

" _I never used it for anything as big as this. After all, I only transferred my own powers before." Shiki admitted. "But, do you trust me?"_

" _Yes." Pakura nodded. "Do it, Shiki. I know you won't hurt me."_

 _Shiki gave her a somewhat regretful smile, as if remembering something, before asking, "Are you ready?"_

" _I'm as ready as I can ever be." Pakura's eyes showed determination._

" _Thank you, Paku-chan." Shiki closed his eyes, as he went over to the pod to start using his ability._

Ash opened his eyes, as he registered the dream he just had. 'So that was what happened to the previous Phoenix. No wonder the balance seemed so…off. Because there was no Phoenix, and there are two people with two halves of the power.' He sat up, as he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Shiki was the Dragon's Champion and Pakura might be both the Dragon's Champion and Season Maiden right now since he did give his aura to her, which was what all his abilities and powers were bound to.

'Though if she really becomes the Phoenix, she loses both the roles, that is assuming she got the role of the Dragon Champion as well. Since they are the titles for substitutes, I can safely assume that it's possible for one person to have both roles…' He frowned as something just occurred to him. 'Now I think of it, Rosaline's aura seemed to be to diminished when I checked on her even when her aura has been regained…but could it be her coma was caused by two things? She has always been sort of hungry for power, like she had some empty feeling within her…'

Ash jumped up, as he realized something. Rosaline could have been the one who stole half the powers of the Phoenix from Flamma, which meant her powerful fire-based abilities were not entirely because of her aura, making her a fraud in more ways than one.

Making a decision, he decided to make his way to the hospital.

* * *

Meanwhile, Pakura sat at the bedside, thoughts running rampant in her head. What was she doing here? Pakura gasped as she had yet another flashback when she saw a flash of lightning.

 _Pakura was sent flying by the flurry of Judgement Cuts, and got kicked down to the ground, but she merely got up again, head bowed as her attacker was about to slice her again, she jumped onto his katana briefly, using the momentum to send a drop kick, which was blocked._

 _As she looked up, her eyes were revealed be have a fiery glow, proving her status as the Season Maiden, and when they clashed with their respective weapons, she was only able deflect each hit, but managed to kick her opponent away in the ensuring brawl._

 _Pakura panted, as she knew her aura was running out. She charged towards her opponent, and was about to aim her throwing knife, when she gasped in pain. Looking down, she realized she had been impaled with what looked like blue energy swords._

' _It was a long range attack?' Pakura thought as she collapsed forward, the swords sticking out from her back while the attacker got up, smirking. Pakura used telekinesis to push them out of her back and healed herself with Regenerative Healing Factor, fear coursing through her veins. She realized her body was trembling but it was too late as he was in front of her, and gave her the decisive final blow to her stomach with his katana, sending her flying towards a building, which shattered the moment she hit it._

Pakura shook her head, as she panted, out of breath due to fright. 'Who was that? Was that a nightmare? Am I having day nightmares now?'

Pakura tried to compose herself, and kept her eyes open, darting from side to side from time to time, as if some monster was going to pop out from under the bed and creep up either side to get her. She sighed as she calmed down, knowing there was no way she can return as the Leader of the Elite, and to become the PAL's Princess again after all that happened.

While it was true she was the leader…well, co-leader, the voice, the face, and the very embodiment of the PAL Region alongside Ash. Perhaps they wanted her to become the Princess that everyone can count on, the Elite Leader that can efficiently cover for others and fix their mistakes and keep things in pace once more.

Sometimes Pakura did listen to them but dropped out distractedly, sometimes she just intensely watched Shiki frowning, making others wonder what she saw in the empty air. Other times, she simply used her powers, forcing them to flee.

At this point, Pakura wasn't sure if she had enough sanity to even perform well enough to keep her positions. From what she knew, Akira was assessing her mental condition most likely to tell Ash if she still can be saved or it was too late for her. Pakura inwardly scoffed at that. With one year left in her life and no known ways of getting out of Scarlet Anger, the answer was already obvious.

Really, was there any point in returning to her duties? The region would be fine, she made sure of it once Ash assumed the role of Prince. They don't need her. As for the threat known as Benzene, he was already long dead, disposed and probably eaten by Sharpedo and Carvanha, which is of course, irreversible.

Then there's Shiki, whom she felt was getting distant because she cheated on him with Ash. How could she face him now, knowing she cheated on her handsome, talented, brilliant, noble, smart, sweet, lovely and caring fiancé? He was nothing but nice to her, and even took her in when no one else wanted her. Pakura didn't really blame him for being disappointed in her.

" _I was at fault too."_ Shiki spoke up. _"I wasn't there for you when you needed me. Also, you are extremely attractive with that supernatural beauty of yours. People are bound to want you. After all that talk of marrying you, I still did not go on with the wedding. You're bound to be tired."_

"I wasn't tired of you." Pakura replied. "I would never get tired of you. You're the first person I ever had feelings for, and you know how I feel for you even now."

" _So much for our roles in the world, huh? As the Dragon Champion and Season Maiden?"_ Shiki smiled sadly. He knew that the Chosen One and the Phoenix, the ones keeping the balance in the Pokémon World, always had substitutes, who receive the titles Dragon Champion and Season Maiden respectively to denote that they are next in line to receive the powers of the Chosen One/the Phoenix should anything happen to either one of those two.

It so happens both of them were the substitutes to the Chosen One and the Phoenix respectively. That way, their powers would not fall into the wrong hands should the Chosen One or the Phoenix be attacked for their gifts.

"Yes, the Pokémon World has no need for the both of us. I mean, I am pretty tired of the makeup and fancy clothing. Not to mention going to social events and making connection for the region, which I don't even like. As for putting up those wonderful performances during battle and in Pokémon Contests or Showcases, it loses its glamour after a while." Pakura grumbled. "I don't feel too right though. I feel an emptiness. It burns. I don't even know why." Pakura gasped as her hand had a fireball on it, before quickly dissipating it with her mind.

" _Since when do you manipulate fire?"_ Shiki frowned.

"I never did…I wasn't even holding Fire Dust." Pakura tried to calm herself down, her mind in turmoil as to what was going on. "I can't stay here anymore."

" _Then find somewhere we can go together, and quit moping."_ Shiki gave a proud smile. _"The world's a really big place. One day you're definitely going to meet people who would treat you the way you deserve to be treated, even with the red eyes of yours. But…"_ Here, Shiki narrowed his eyes. _"We cannot come back here once we go. Depending on the situation, you may have to leave your Pokémon behind."_

"They will be fine with the others." Pakura muttered. "I don't think they liked putting up with me when you started leaving for long missions and stuff…"

" _Then when we leave, let's not look back and let's not turn back."_ Shiki advised. _"Perhaps after we leave we can have a small, private ceremony and our honeymoon."_

"That sounds…lovely." Pakura replied, not having the energy or mood to even muster a smile. "Although I wish I could express it."

" _I understand. You're broken. I love you no matter what happens. Do you still believe that?"_ Shiki asked.

"Yes." Pakura whispered.

" _I'm still here. I will put you back together."_ Shiki placed a hand over his heart. _"You're just tired, rest until you get well. I'll wait for you…always."_

Unknown to them, Ash had overheard the conversation. He was able to use his ability to see things from Pakura's perspective, allowing him to see that hallucination and what it had told her.

'Of course…Shiki was her first love. How can I ever compete with someone like him, even if he was dead?' Ash pressed his hand against the glass window, the only thing separating him from Pakura. 'I don't know if you can hear me, Paku. I'm sorry.'

Ash slid down the wall to the floor, secretly crying once more. 'I think a drink would calm me down.' With that thought, he made his way to the soda machine, but was waylaid by Akira on the way. "Come on." Akira said. "We need you back at Princess Pakura's ward."

"What for?" Ash asked.

"We're going to try something on Princess Pakura." Akira answered. "Send in the most innocuous person from her life that they can come up with. Find someone Princess Pakura might share some good memories with and know her on a somewhat personal level, but nothing too close to you. They're screening people now."

Ash knew that it would be a difficult task because the only person who shared good memories with and know her on a somewhat personal level that is not resting in the hospital would be Shiki and he's already dead. Furthermore, Jude and Phillip have some connection with him, so they are also out.

Even without good memories shared, there are very little people who know her on a personal level since not even the members know basic things such as her likes and dislikes. But when they reached the room that had been turned into a workspace for the medical team, a sweet-looking girl with an innocent beauty wearing what looked like a pink Japanese girls' uniform with matching white boots sat talking to one of the members of the medical team. When she turned around, he just knew who she was even before Akira introduced her. There was no mistaking that emerald green eyes which he saw once before.

"Prince Red, this is Akeno Calfuray Cheveyo. Akeno, meet Prince Red, our regional ruler." Akira said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Akeno gave a genuine smile, holding her hand out.

"Hello." Ash nodded, as he took her hand. He noted that it felt smooth and cool, like an adult's. "I thought you were abroad."

"I was." Akeno replied. "But the spirits told me to come back, so I did."

'She's a little…eccentric.' Ash thought. "Are you the one they've picked to see Paku?"

"I guess so." Akeno shrugged. "Poor Pakura. Poor you. I'll never really understand why the power of Scarlet Anger harms the users."

'Ok, now how did she know that?' Ash was somewhat unnerved. It's like the spirits report back to her or something. Which made him wonder, how many spirits are listening to them right now as they stand in this room?

"Akeno's known Princess Pakura for quite a while." Akira said.

"Oh yes!" Akeno's face brightened. "We used to have tea together from years ago, talking about a lot of stuff. I really love the snacks and sweet treats she would make for us to eat. She was no slouch at Valentine's Day too." As she said it, she laughed, and Ash noted even her laugh sounded refined.

"I'm sure your years of pleasant memories with her can help us find out how much Scarlet Anger can affect her, especially with such as pleasant companion like you and your spiritual powers." Akira remarked. "Let's give it a shot."

Ash and Akira made their way to the observation room next to where Pakura has been placed temporarily for the purpose of finding out how much Scarlet Anger had affected her. It's already filled with some people in white coats armed with pens and clipboards. The one-way glass and audio setup allowed them to watch Pakura secretly.

She sat upright on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her expression seemed more lucid than when she tried to strangle Ash, but it's still not one that really belonged to her. When the door quietly opened, her eyes narrowed in alarm as she turned towards the door, then became confused. Akeno crossed the room tentatively, but as she neared her she broke into a smile. "Pakura? It's Akeno. Remember me?"

"Akeno?" Pakura frowned, as to think about whether she remembered the name. Some of the clouds seemed to clear because the next thing she said was, "Akeno. It's you."

"Yes." Akeno said with obvious relief. "How do you feel?"

"Awful. Where are we? What happened?" Pakura sounded genuinely confused.

"Well…we're in the PAL General Hospital." Akeno replied.

"But why was I sent here? I wasn't injured. I never really needed any medical help." Pakura shook her head. "I don't even know what is going on with me, and I wish Shiki was here to tell me, but he said something about going out for groceries." Pakura looked away.

"I told her to steer clear of any mention of you, just in case." Akira informed him. "Let's see how much of home she can conjure up through all the confusion of Scarlet Anger."

"Why don't you tell me what you remember?" Akeno said gently.

"I'm not sure, really. All I know that I keep having flashbacks that seem real. But they are terrifying, and I don't want to remember them. The latest thing I remember was cold, blue eyes as the owner of them swung down his katana on me and I hit a building, which shattered. But it makes no sense. I never fought a guy with blue eyes who wields a katana. Why didn't Shiki rescue me? What happened?" Pakura was holding her head.

"Shh, it's alright, it's alright. You're safe here." Akeno assured her. "You know, I was just thinking about the times we used to have tea together. Your cakes were so wonderful. Remember how you used to decorate each cake differently?"

"I thought I usually make smores for tea…and since when did we go for tea together?" Pakura frowned.

"How did you remember me then?" Akeno gasped.

"Er…didn't we meet at the Proelium Arena as competitors and saw each other as worthy opponents after an intense rivalry? Your spiritual powers almost got me." Pakura tilted her head.

"Er…we…" Akeno stuttered, as Pakura went on, "You really used your umbrella well. Who knew it contained a blade in it?"

'This is my signature weapon, but I never even fought her in combat before.' Akeno thought. 'And as far as I knew, she only trained there and never fought any other competitors before.'

"So tell me…why am I here?" Pakura asked. "I'm not sick, am I?"

Ash could see the sheen of sweat on Akeno's forehead as she tried to work around the question. "Something did happen, and they believed they need you here for observation."

"Hang in there, girl." Akira encouraged, while Ash watched silently.

"No…Shiki won't condone this." Pakura denied. "He knows how I feel about being watched when in a room awaiting more punishment, more torture. Where is he, Akeno?"

"I'm not sure." Akeno said haltingly. "But I'm sure they'll let you out soon once they know you're ok. Do you remember how you used to show me what swordplay was?"

"Champion Red stabbed me, didn't he?" Pakura said suddenly.

"Yes," Akeno whispered.

"I got in here because of him!" Pakura exclaimed angrily, as objects began levitating around her and an ice storm was about to form. "He probably told you that Shiki didn't even exist. Shiki said he was always there for me, and he never lied."

"Oh, no, Pakura. It wasn't Prince Red's fault." Akeno tried to calm her down.

"Did he tell you that?" Pakura hissed at her.

"Get her out of there," Akira ordered. The door opened immediately and Akeno began backing toward it slowly.

"He didn't have to. I was just-" Akeno began.

"He's lying. Well, I know Shiki is alive! I saw him, I talked to him! He's real, Akeno." Surprisingly, although Pakura was angry, she didn't raise her voice.

"No, Pakura. He's-" Akeno tried again.

"Don't trust him, Akeno." Pakura sounded slightly frantic. "He has good-looking yes, but he uses it. It worked against me once and I cheated on Shiki because of it. He made me cheat against such a perfect fiancé that I should have appreciated. Red tried to kill me when I couldn't let go of my fiancé. He's out to make my life a living hell, and he might be after Shiki's life. I have to protect my fiancé."

A hand reached through the doorway, pulled Akeno out and the door swung shut.

Ash watched in silence as the people scribbled like crazy, taking down every word. Akira frowned as he said, "Meeting during the Hearthome Collection, where Akeno was the sponsor and Pakura the competitor and at the Proelium Arena as fighters are two completely different things. It also seemed to me that the Scarlet Anger implanted false memories from the 'intense rivalry' remark."

'And not only does she hate me and want to kill me, she apparently thinks I'm a huge threat to her well-being and love life.' Ash thought sorrowfully, as he walked out of the hospital room without another word and made his way to the other wards his Elites reside in.

Unknown to him, Pakura had made a decision as to what her next move should be, a plan already forming in her head as she looked out the window overseeing the garden.

'I can tell Ash had thought about trying to help but…he has this region to take care of along with his other Hunter duties. I'll just be holding him back, just like the traitors did to him in his journey and he won't be able to show them what he can do. I won't be any better than them.' Pakura thought.

* * *

As Ash walked past two nurses, they were apparently gossiping about the Pokémon Beauty Contest Brock was to be participating in, which he had forgotten. Apparently, he had registered Crobat as his Pokémon, but his female friends were caught trying to sabotage the competition itself.

Furthermore, Brock had apparently fed Pokéblocks to Crobat, something which was not allowed in PAL as it helped enhance a Pokémon's condition for Pokémon Contests and it would certainly help in this contest as well. Brock had protested his innocence as he was taken away for investigation.

'It was clear one of the girls placed them in Crobat's meal…probably May.' Ash thought. What interested him however, was that the girls collapsed after being caught and was rushed to the hospital. It turned out that something was affecting their physical and mental state, which made Ash suspect Pakura used Scarlet Anger on them. One thing is for sure, they would be in the hospital for quite a while, as Pakura is known to deal lethal damage.

'But how can I help her get rid of Scarlet Anger with her being practically irretrievable?' Ash thought.

"Red?" A voice said. Ash turned to see Cynthia.

Ash narrowed his eyes. He almost wanted to say, "Don't talk to me ever again! You may have beauty that is almost comparable to Paku but you're nowhere close to her. You only care about your own image as Champion! You may be perceived as strong but you'll never have her spirit and beliefs!" Then again, it'll be unprovoked, so he wisely kept his mouth shut and merely said in a neutral voice, "Hello, Cynthia. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Misty, May, Dawn and Iris. They were hospitalized." Cynthia said quietly. "Why weren't you at the Pokémon Beauty Contest?"

"I couldn't make it. I had an appointment." Ash answered smoothly, giving her a subtle look of disgust. "I'm sorry, I got to go. I'm busy."

"Wait!" Cynthia grabbed his arm. "Could you save them? Like using your aura for instance? I heard to be a ruler, you need to be able to use some sort of supernatural powers and it's usually manifested by something called Aura."

'Looks like she has done her homework. Then again, I didn't expect any less, considering she's a scholar.' Ash thought, before saying, "I cannot, considering I didn't develop any healing abilities with my aura." That was a tiny lie, since he did have some healing abilities in the form of his Chain Manipulation, but why should he help them?

"Is that all you need?" Ash asked Cynthia. "I already have my problems to deal with."

"What problems can you have?" Cynthia asked him.

"Like the fact that all my Elites are in the hospital?" Ash said sarcastically. "I don't have the obligation to help your friends, since I'm already trying to save my own."

"How're your friends any more important than mine?" Cynthia frowned.

"Simple. My Elites are the main protectors of the region, so they have a sense of duty to this region. Your friends on the other hand just show themselves off to television and play with their Pokémon when they're in this region. So excuse me if I value them more than I value your friends." Ash rolled his eyes. "Look, I shouldn't be talking to you. My wife won't be happy about it."

"Wait, you're married? I see no ring." Cynthia was confused.

'Ack, I said that on a whim…' Ash thought. "Yeah, but it was a paper marriage. We didn't do the ceremony yet because of this tournament. Besides, we agreed to keep it a secret." As he said it however, he made a mental note to think of a plan where he can make this statement the truth and at the same time make sure Pakura doesn't stray to other guys such as Steven, though he doubted Pakura would be too receptive about it. Then again, she'd say no if he proposed the idea.

"Oh. I was hoping we could go out for dinner together but…" Cynthia trailed off, looking somewhat disappointed, as she fiddled with something in her coat pocket, which did not go unnoticed by Ash, making him wonder if she had stolen something while he slipped away without being noticed.

'Nah, it can't be.' Ash thought to himself, dismissing the idea that Cynthia might have stolen something. He narrowed his eyes as he sensed that Pakura was on the move, and changed directions, towards her. However, he saw no one and the aura signature suddenly disappeared.

'She did have the ability to turn invisible and conceal her aura.' Ash thought, running straight in the direction he had chosen to head. 'I have to catch her before it's too late. Here goes nothing.' Ash concentrated his aura, forming it in a perfect circle. He sense movement and threw a knife, but it was being slowed down with telekinesis and caught. The knife disappeared, and Ash knew that Pakura was there.

"Paku, I know you're there. Don't make me force you to come out." Ash sighed.

Silence, and Pakura walked towards him, already dressed in travelling clothes. The way she dressed indicated she had no intention of fighting. "Hello, Ash." She said in a monotonous tone.

"Paku, what are you doing?" Ash folded his arms.

"A girl can't just go out by herself?" Pakura sounded humourless.

"She can, but you're sick, you need to rest." Ash frowned, but he saw her carrying a suitcase. "What is that?"

"A sub-space suitcase. I figured this life I'm living isn't suited for me. I'll go to Los Angeles or something and be a Defense Attorney, travel the world and live my remaining life to the best of my abilities."

That statement shocked Ash. What was Pakura talking about?

"No please don't! I'm begging you Paku." Ash pleaded.

"I wish I care but you already made your independence clear. I don't need to be here anymore." Pakura sighed desolately. "Besides, I already have three approval signatures for me to leave the Elite."

"How?" Ash whispered, tears threatening to fall down his face.

"You underestimate Akeno's spiritual power. I made a deal with Jude and Phillip that I would heal them in exchange for those signatures and as for Rosaline, I just had to mind control her. They won't be too sorry to see me go, considering what I did. You made your decision, Ash. I made mine." Pakura said quietly.

"That's one decision I'll regret for the rest of my life." Ash told her. "Even I can't believe I fell for a hypocritical bitch who told on me. Paku, I was ignorant and blind to the one who loved me from the bottom of her heart...and now because of my stupid mistake she's..." Ash started crying, unable to finish his sentence.

Pakura doesn't reply. Instead, she turned and started walking away from Ash. Only Ash somehow managed to construct a barrier, preventing her from leaving.

"Let me out, Ash." Pakura said coldly.

"No…not until you hear me out." Ash attempted to wipe his tears.

Pakura took out a katana Ash never saw before. "Do it, or else I'll just create a portal to go to the airport."

"Paku, please, I'm such a terrible person for ditching you for that two faced witch called Cynthia. Even mentioning her name gives me a stab to the heart. I never realised how much you loved me...and how much I actually loved you..." Ash looked away, as Pakura looked at him impassively.

'You're such a liar, Ash.' Pakura thought.

"I'll never forgive myself if I let you go just like that. I can't let true love slip away just like that. I'll…I'll forget about that manipulative witch Cynthia. I can't forgive someone who nearly sold me out and sent me to the gallows. I swear with my life and powers, even if I have to go across the cosmos...even if I have to go through the deep dimensions of space, I'll make every moment we share the happiest moments of our lives! Just give me a chance for us to start over!" Ash practically begged her.

"You'll be fine." Pakura rolled her eyes.

"No I won't be! I will mourn every day and every night for you...I'll be in the most unimaginable pain possible without you! Please…you have the chance now...don't live a life of regret!" Ash knew he was going to suffocate from the intense ache in his heart.

"Ash, we both know that's a lie." Pakura pointed out mildly. "Besides, you have a whole life ahead of you. I only have a little over a year. We have a large disparity in our lifespans, so I will probably be long dead before you are. No need to lie to yourself that you love me."

"I may have made mistakes in the past...and I have broken your heart, but even though mistakes of the past don't disappear...we can take them and beautify the present and future together!" Ash knew it was useless to hide his tears at this point.

"Save it, Ash." Pakura cut him off. "We all know my place was gone the moment Shiki died."

"But what about your role as the Phoenix?" Ash was desperate to get her to stay.

"Ashura." Ash looked up, shocked at her using the full version of his first name. "You should know by now I only hold half the powers of the Phoenix. The other half is held by someone else. Once I die, the half I'm holding would seek out the person holding the other half. That someone would be the new Phoenix. I'm not exactly receptive to being your counterpart and keeping the balance in this world. Of course, you already knew I never deserved more than half my abilities in the first place and I even got this from you-know-where. I guess sometimes bad things just happen." Pakura showed Ash a fireball, and he stumbled back, horrified. Since when did Pakura control fire?

"You on the other hand got your aura abilities and powers by your own merit, and became the Chosen One because they elected you to, not because it was granted to you through science or even because of being given to you as part of some plan to help prevent the powers from falling into the wrong hands. I knew the moment I met you that you are no failure, and that you could be better than anyone else, which was why I wanted you as Champion of our region, so that it would be in good hands." Pakura went on. "I knew I wouldn't last the moment I received the Scarlet Anger. I admit, some of my actions were partly of my own free will. Even without that terrible power, I would still do whatever it takes to keep my secrets, even if it means killing all of you."

Ash stayed silent, as Pakura tilted her head down and looked at him with a grim expression on her face. "Ashura, you can't help me anymore. You have your own commitments that is far more important than saving a lost cause. Both of us are already on opposite sides from the beginning, and we have nothing left to say to each other." Without even a farewell, she slashed open a portal with her katana and began walking towards it.

However, she did not notice Ash concentrating a considerable amount of aura into just the finger-tips of a single hand and then performing a thrusting motion to the certain part of the back of her neck. Pakura widened her eyes, before collapsing. The last thing she saw was Shiki shushing her, and saying, _"Don't worry, Paku. Just go to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up."_

"I'm sorry, Paku." Ash whispered, as he caught her before she fell to the ground, smiling sadly through his tears. He hugged her unconscious form to himself. "But I can't let you go like that. I would never have forgiven myself." For some reason, he knew that there was a way to get rid of Scarlet Anger. It's just that no one discovered it yet.

* * *

"Ugh…" Pakura opened her eyes to find herself in some hospital bed. Much to her confusion, she was wearing an oxygen mask and even having a heart monitor next to her. They weren't with her when she was in the hospital room earlier. Did Ash take her back to the hospital or something when he knocked her out? Why would Ash even do that to her, when she saw nothing wrong with leaving when she knew PAL would be fine even without her?

"Paku-chan! Thank goodness!" A familiar voice engulfed her in a hug. Pakura looked at the person, and gasped.

"Shiki?" Pakura was shocked. What was he doing here? Wasn't he mad at her for cheating or something?

"Who else?" Shiki chuckled.

Pakura frowned at Shiki. He looked exactly the same alright, though she thought he looked younger. Pakura looked down at her hands, turning them, examining their presence. Much to her confusion, she was wearing ribbons on both her wrists, and her hair was tied in low bunches, something she never wore for six years.

She pushed Shiki aside as she rushed towards the mirror at the other side, and gasped when she realized she was staring at amethyst eyes, and she did not even have to employ an illusion to do that. No, scratch that. She didn't even feel the power of the Phoenix in her now, or even Shiki's abilities. It was all her own.

"Feeling alright there?" Shiki looked concerned.

"How long was I…asleep?" Pakura said carefully.

"A month." Shiki sighed. "I stayed here for the entire time, and mind controlled the doctors a little to allow me to stay with you. You didn't show any signs of waking up at all…until now." As if on cue, her Eevee yipped in happiness, and Pakura widened her eyes as her Sylveon was now an Eevee again.

"It can't be!" Pakura started to panic. Did her Accidental Magic activate again? It can't be, otherwise she'd look like a mature, grown and beautiful woman rather than an innocently adorable pre-teen. "No, no, no…this isn't happening!"

"What isn't happening?" Shiki sounded confused. "Wait, do you even remember what landed you in hospital?"

Pakura frowned as she tried to think back, but all she got was a blank. She shook her head, and she swore she saw Shiki looking slightly relieved at that, though he frowned again. "Something wrong?" Shiki's brows furrowed.

"I don't know….is this real?" Pakura shook her head.

"Of course it's real!" Shiki smiled. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"How can I be sure?" Pakura looked at herself in the mirror once more. "I'm losing it, aren't I?"

"Well I'm here." Shiki gently petted her head. "How can you lose it when you are with me? You must have had a long dream."

"I don't get it." Pakura turned to Shiki. "One moment I was 21, and the next I'm back to 11 again."

"Silly you, I said before, it's just a crazy dream." Shiki laughed. "Look, why don't you tell me everything from the beginning. What you remember."

'Of course, he always offers anything that would be a convenience to me.' Pakura thought sadly. 'How could my loyalty to him waver and make me cheat on him like this? He's nothing short of perfect.' She closed her eyes and said, "Alright, I will, but I can't guarantee a happy story. Also, there are some lapses in my memory I can't explain."

"I'm ready to hear it." Shiki walked up to her and took her hands.

Pakura took a deep breath, and poured out every single last thing to him: the sudden realization that she had his powers, the stuff about them starting to be distant since their engagement and him often disappearing somewhere only leaving a short note behind, the struggle to cope with the duties that came with her positions and defending her titles after becoming the Elite Leader, and it wasn't helping with their self-proclaimed manager who only cared about his fame and reputation and using her to help boost them by selling her, causing her to be addicted to antidepressants and liquor in general.

Along the way, Pakura mentioned her anger at the fact that a girl with a normal background and no single idea of what being an Elite in the PAL Region entails applying for the position and having the gall to beg for another chance despite failing two times, not being a Hunter in the first place and acting like she was above the rules where she even said she will keep applying even if they rejected her, and even suspected her of stealing powers.

She even told Shiki about a boy she had taken in against her better judgement and raising him to be a ruthless Champion for reasons unknown despite her having him, and finally, the admission that she fell for him at one point even though he was pining for another and her having him and even cheated on him by doing it with him and her being stabbed by him later on when they fought for their ideals.

"They all seem so real." Pakura shook her head. "Especially the memory where he tried to kill me, Shiki. I loved him and he just stabbed me like I was nothing. Where have I gone wrong?"

Shiki listened to her with a grave look on his face, and as Pakura finished telling him what she remembered, he said, "You know what I think you need?"

"What?" Pakura asked.

"A vacation." Shiki replied simply. "Once you recover, why don't we go somewhere together? Just the two of us."

"Where?" Pakura sounded excited.

"It's a surprise." Shiki grinned. "I'll need to make preparations though, so be patient."

"Alright…" Pakura sighed, as Shiki made her settle on the bed, and put the blanket over her. Pakura wondered if all that happened was real or it was all in her head. If it was the latter, she certainly had a very long dream. With that thought, she decided to take a nap.

* * *

Pakura pouted in an adorable way as she looked at the strewn clothing all over the hospital bed. It would not bode well if Shiki ever saw the mess. However, she was faced with a crisis: She couldn't decide what to wear for the date…or at least, she hoped it was one.

'I need something that would take Shiki's mind off the fact that I cheated, and something that would make him attracted to me again.' Pakura thought, looking at all the clothes strewn on the hospital floor. 'Hmm…all of them are cute which matches my appearance, but I probably need to mix and match.' With that thought, Pakura decided to try and mix up her clothes and hold it up in front of her. Eventually, she decided on a light pink plain tank top that goes along with a small and thin white cardigan. Her tank top also included strings that went around her neck. She decided to wear her ribbons on top of the end of the sleeves of her cardigan. She also wore a dark brown skirt along with white thigh highs and black boots.

'That's as good as I can get.' Pakura sighed sadly, using her telekinesis to fold and pack her clothing, noting the fact that the telekinesis was rather weak and she could only fold and pack one set at a time. 'Hopefully it's enough. Should I practice my puppy eyes look? After all, I can freely feel emotions now that Scarlet Anger is apparently not planted in me.' Just as she was contemplating this, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Pakura said, slamming her suitcase shut.

The door opened to reveal Shiki wearing a suit. "Paku-chan." He called out.

"Eep!" Pakura squeaked. 'Is he wearing a formal suit? Oh no…'

"Here." Pakura looked down to see a beautiful handmade heart box. When she opened it, it turned out to have a mirror inside. "W-What's all this?"

"Don't you like it?" Shiki looked somewhat surprised.

"No, it's just that…it's such a surprise you'd do all this for me, after all I did to you…" Pakura trailed off. 'Furthermore, I'm not dressed in the same level as him.'

"Now, now, it's just a crazy dream. The Paku-chan I know would never do that. You're too sweet, kind, gentle and caring to do that." Shiki shook his head.

Hearing this, Pakura almost cried tears of happiness that someone believed in her. "Thank you. I'm so happy!"

"Good." Shiki grinned. "So, there's somewhere I want to take you…"

"Alright. Let's go!" Pakura said enthusiastically, as Shiki took her hand and led the way. It turned out the place he wanted to take her to was a fancy boutique, full of branded clothing and accessories.

"Are you going to buy something from here?" Pakura asked him.

"Your dress." Shiki replied simply. "For our date. After all, a special girl like you deserves a present. Go ahead and pick whatever you like."

"I feel so bad about this…" Pakura muttered.

"Don't. I want you to wear the dress I am going to buy for you." Shiki assured her, pushing her towards the dresses. Pakura frowned, but decided to see what dress she liked. She finally found a beautiful dark blue one that was filled with diamonds and black lace covered the front part of the bottom half. She smiled, as she instantly knew which dress she wanted to wear for the date.

* * *

Pakura gasped at the huge luxury ship in front of her. "Is this?" She asked, pointing to the ship.

"Yeah, it's a luxury cruise." Shiki replied. "That's where our date would be. It's three days and three nights. Don't worry about the sea, though. I'll be there to save you."

"But the reservations…and the money…" Pakura started to splutter, but Shiki held up a hand, indicating that she should not worry.

"The most important thing is for you to forget everything you seen in your dreams, and see you smile." Shiki stated, as he took her by the hand and pulled her inside.

"Wow…there's a pool, a casino, and the dining room is so luxurious!" Pakura admired. "Not that I can enter the casino, though."

"When you're older." Shiki said firmly. "Pretty."

"The view? Yeah, it's beautiful." Pakura nodded.

"No, I'm talking about you." Shiki corrected her. "The dress looks really great on you. So dark colours do suit you as well."

'If only you knew what my style was after I grew up…' Pakura thought, just as she heard a faint sound of the piano. "Oh, there's a piano performance?"

"Violins too." Shiki added.

"Amazing…" Pakura was awed. "Someday I want to learn those pieces."

"You will." Shiki smiled, as everyone stood up and headed towards the center of the room.

"Are we supposed to dance?" Pakura said nervously. Even when she was a Princess, she avoided dancing. After all, whenever she did it with another man, they'd try to feel her, which she would retaliate by crushing their foot with her high heels.

Shiki knelt down in front of her and said, "May I have this dance?"

'I forgot Shiki came from an aristocrat family.' Pakura groaned, though she offered her hand to Shiki as a non-verbal consent. 'Of course he would know how to act like a gentleman and dance at social parties.' Shiki then led her to the center of the restaurant.

"I'm bad at this…" Pakura muttered.

"It's fine. I can teach you. Just follow my lead." Shiki gave her a wink, as he put one of his hands into her hand, and another on her hip. They then began dancing to the music.

* * *

'I can't believe it.' Ash thought, sitting next to Pakura, who was lying on his bed in a comatose state. Her things were all unpacked and arranged in his room already. 'She didn't even show any sign of emotion in her eyes when talking to me. That Scarlet Anger…it consumed her, corrupted her, and took away what she held dear to her heart: Her memories.'

Ash clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes. Anger was clearly seen in them. 'No, I can't let her go this time and I have to make sure she can't get away. She is all I got after all.'

He frowned at her still form, knowing she should have woken up by now, as it had been a few days already. 'But then again, she didn't have the courage to move on. After everything that was thrown at her, I'm not surprised if she wasn't emotionally scarred. Could it be her mental illness, along with her psychic power, is causing her to be stuck in a dream? After all, it's not unusual for psychic powers to spin out of control against the user due to the mental well-being.'

As he looked at her comatose form, Ash thought, 'Sure, everyone keeps talking about her getting back to normal, but this is normal. It's just taking her a while to get used to it. Besides, we were never meant to be normal. What do they know? Do they want her to just pretend like nothing happened? Shiki was a huge part of her, and she lost it. A piece of her is gone, and it's never coming back.'

" **But that doesn't have to stop her from becoming who she wants to be."** Pikachu interrupted, apparently having read his last thoughts through telepathy or aura. **"She's Pakura Ameyuri, Regional Princess, PAL Duchess, Elite Leader, Top Coordinator, and other things I am too lazy to name. She can do whatever she puts her mind to, ill or not.** **All you need to do is to be there for her."**

" **Her mental illness is likely fuelled by fear. She apparently didn't handle it too well, considering her current state."** Lucario added quietly.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what to do. My work would probably double for one, since she is now incapacitated. She had made so many plans and I'll have to see that they are completed. Especially now that she has been caring for the residents in my old home and I would have to take care of the necessities now."

" **Have you thought about going after her in her head? Trying to bring her back?"** Pikachu nodded towards Pakura.

"I did…but I also have my own plans to take care of." Ash said hesitatingly.

" **Like what?"** Lucario asked.

"The decision on who would be Rota's Crown Princess." Ash replied. "I've already decided who I want to have that title, but I'm not sure how to make her accept." He looked over to Pakura.

" **Pakura certainly doesn't lack any traits needed and even have skills outside of her duties that can be useful and what's more, you love her, so you can marry for love! Although, the mental illnesses she has can pose a problem."** Pikachu replied.

"You're right." Ash sighed. "If only she taught me more in my prince lessons, like how to convince someone to approve to your request. I mean, all she taught me so far was how to sit, how to dress for different occasions, how to use a fish fork, how to address senior members of the royal household staff, how to say some basic conversation lines in seven languages, and some Rota facts."

" **You don't really have to."** Lucario shrugged. **"I mean, you did see how she works, right? Why not take a leaf out of her book?"**

"I don't have Mind Control or Persuasion to help me. Besides, she's immune to psychic powers." Ash deadpanned.

" **I hope you didn't forget to bring your brain, Ash."** Pikachu folded his arms. **"Remember what she said?"**

" _Recall what you know about the person. Review the information you can remember to reach a decisive conclusion that can allow you to find out something else about the person, usually a personality trait or even a weakness. No matter how much they try to hide it, if you're observant enough, you can dig it out from the evidence of your memories. If possible, you can even exploit it, so that they would have no choice but to comply."_

Ash opened his eyes, as he nodded, a smile creeping to his face. He knew what trait of hers he can exploit for her to comply. But first, he needed to wake her up.

"Here." Ash tossed a card key to Pikachu and Lucario. "From now on, you two would share the room connected to mine along with Paku's walking Pokémon. They are already in there."

" **Any reason on the sudden arrangement?"** Pikachu asked curiously.

"No, it's just that I want some alone time with her. I'm going to try and wake her up like the Prince did with Snow White." Ash smiled. 'Since the room is soundproof, that just makes it even better. After all she did, it's the least she deserves.'

" **Ok, if you say so."** Lucario replied, not really knowing what the fairy tale Snow White is. Perhaps he could ask Pakura's Sylveon when they get to the connecting room. With that thought, they made their way to the room, and closed the door behind them.

Ash used telekinesis to lock his door to prevent the Pokémon from entering, and looked at Pakura thoughtfully. He took out a couple's bracelet that was made out of beautiful coloured diamonds sewn together on a velvet ribbon bracelet with their names on it. What was more, the velvet ribbon and their names written on it was in their favourite colours. He pressed a hand to her forehead and concentrated his psychic power, hoping to be able to save Pakura from whatever dream she was trapped in. It was time for her to face reality head-on.

* * *

After Pakura and Shiki were done dancing and having their food, they decided to go outside for a bit. Though Pakura hated the water, she had to admit the view of the pool from where she was standing was actually quite surreal. "Shi-chan, thanks for the date. I really had fun."

"No problem." Shiki grinned. "You looked very nice when you dance."

"Thanks." Pakura blushed, as their hands intertwined. 'Every moment with him was magical. There is no way I would let go of him for the world. If this was a dream, I would never want to wake up.'

"So, want to go back to our room?" Shiki asked as he held a card key.

"You booked a room? How long?" Pakura gasped.

"The whole three days and three nights. So we have lots more time to enjoy the facilities of the ship." Shiki smiled. Just then, there was a splash, and Pakura gasped as the person flew out of the pool.

"Seriously, of all places, I find you here?" Ash asked, approaching the duo.

"Ash? What are you-?" Pakura looked fearful. What is going on?

"Wait, you know this guy?" Shiki narrowed his eyes at the new arrival.

"He's PAL's Regional Champion." Pakura whimpered.

"I thought I told you he wasn't real!" Shiki turned to her.

"But...how is he here, then?" Pakura stuttered.

"That's because Shiki, you are not real." Ash said bluntly.

"Are you mocking me?" Shiki whirled around to face Ash.

"No I'm not, Mr Kurobane." Ash sighed. "The mental illnesses got you good, didn't it Paku?"

"How dare you say she's ill? To me, she's perfect!" Shiki hissed angrily. "How dare you call her Paku like you are familiar with her?"

"I won't deny that she's perfect." Ash shrugged. "But I am familiar with her, so I can call her that too. Do you think you're the only one who would call her that?"

"What do you want?" Shiki glared at him.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way: hand Paku over and you won't get hurt Shiki, or I fight you until I get her." Ash went straight to the point.

"Well, what if she doesn't want to go with you?" Shiki asked, boredom creeping into his voice.

"She's coming, whether you like it or not." Ash answered, as he activated a saber blade that had a revolver like chamber for a hilt. He switched the hilt to a light pink colour and pressed a button, causing the saber blade to be covered with a pink light.

"Stay back, Paku-chan." Shiki responded, as he took out his own sword. He nodded, signalling for her to run. However, Ash anticipated it as he shot aura chains that tied her up and pinned her down. Furthermore, it prevented her from using her aura or psychic abilities.

"Paku!" Shiki shouted. "What are you doing?"

"I'm coming for her, so I can't let her escape." Ash replied.

"You are so going to regret this." Shiki his Ash with his sword, knocking Ash back as he backflipped to stop his momentum and his weapon to support himself. Ash summoned several crystal projectiles before firing them at Shiki, but he easily slashed them out of the air with superhuman speed. Ash and Shiki clashed in a sword battle, managing to knock Ash back with a kick. However, Ash looked up, his eyes having a bright white glow around it and it looked to be silver.

Shiki stumbled back as he recognized the power. "You're holding the power of the Chosen One."

"Yes, I am the current Chosen One." Ash smiled.

"Well, Chosen One or not, I won't give up." Shiki warned, as he slammed his foot, causing an earthquake, which Ash dodged by jumping up, and he fired a powerful lava-based attack at Shiki, who deflected it with telekinesis to the sea below. As he charged towards Ash however, the entire surroundings glowed in a very bright white light, likely from the Fairy Dust Ash had combined with his aura.

* * *

"Don't worry, Sylveon is still out there." Ash assured a distraught Pakura at her fallen Eevee, whom she sent after him to attack when Shiki was defeated before her eyes and thrown into the sea, traumatizing her.

"I like my Eevee just the way it is." Pakura glared at him. "It never evolved."

"Don't be silly! Anyway we're going now, keep your mouth quiet." Ash brushed her off, as he carried her bridal style to look for an exit, leaving her Eevee behind. "We are not going to make it anyway, this dream world you speak of."

Ash was nodding absent-mindedly, waving her comments off.

"Get me back to Shiki and my Eevee!" Pakura demanded. "This is kidnapping!"

"Kidnapping? You have been unconscious for a few days in the hospital!" Ash looked at her incredulously.

"I am conscious! I woke up a few days ago. Shiki said so!" Pakura argued.

"I can't hear you..." Ash said in a sing-song voice.

"Now let go of me and go to your girlfriend. If I remember you were pining after Cynthia." Pakura folded her arms, though it was hard to do so when she was still tied up in chains.

"Cynthia? Who the hell is that woman? It sounds like a cheap and smelly perfume brand." Ash feigned ignorance, and not really feeling remorse for what he said about the woman he loves- or once loved- because of the fact that she didn't believe in him when he tried to tell her that he was innocent of his mother's murder. She certainly didn't go through the trouble of keeping his residents safe to help testify for him and even keeping tabs on their well-being. He highly doubted that she would go out of her way to make meals for them or do their grocery shopping for them if needed. Pakura did it all by herself, and Ash admired her for it.

"Just let go of me." Pakura concealed her amusement at the fact that Ash said that Cynthia's name sounded like a cheap and smelly perfume brand, though it is somewhat true, since there is a brand of perfume called Cynthia Rowley if she remembered correctly. Smelly and cheap? She's not sure, since she never tried any perfume, let alone that brand.

"I am not going to." Ash deadpanned.

"Don't tell me you want a bride. Are you a paedophile? I'm way younger than you are!" Pakura protested.

"If I was a paedophile, then Benzene is a serial child rapist." Ash rolled his eyes in a good-natured way. Child Pakura is seriously whimsical.

"Even if this is a dream, I won't want to return to the world where you exist." Pakura muttered. "You may be handsome, but you're a bastard."

"I'm not a bastard." Ash gave her an incredulous look.

"I swear, I'll kill the dream me for loving you. Wonder what was dream me thinking. If I loved a guy like you, I'll kill myself." Pakura looked at him with disgust.

"I'll just take you back and love you." Ash claimed. "There is no way I'm letting you go again."

"You mean you let go of me once?" Pakura remarked sarcastically.

"Ok, that's not the best way to say it, but you know what I mean." Ash gave her a look, and brightened up. "I think I know where the exit is…" He grinned, as he knew that was the one place she loved the most out of all other places.

Ash could never tell her the power she had held over him, or that he genuinely wished for her presence, or that he now wished to be near her. All because he wasted his time pining after Cynthia, whom he thought of as beautiful, strong and independent, and was always up for a good challenge. She even helped other trainers grow and expand bonds with their own Pokémon if needed. True, Pakura would never do that for other trainers, but she'd risk everything, even her own titles and reputation for something she believed in. Ash knew despite her mentality, she was the type to exchange all she had, including her powers, just for another chance to be with someone she loved.

But what exactly had he done for Pakura to show that he loved her? Nothing, and he even viciously stabbed her when they fought, which would likely scar her mentally, adding to the many emotional scars she had over the years, not to mention they were being amplified thanks to the side effects of Scarlet Anger. He could already tell from her talk with Akeno to access how much Scarlet Anger had affected her.

Ash frowned again when he saw her expression.

'She looked really sad. By releasing her, she gets the chance to live her remaining life and join her fiancé. But I can't do it. Even if it hurts her, I don't want to let her go. With you currently not listening to reason, I knew there was no way but to use force. Forgive me, Paku.' Ash thought. 'But I don't want to lose any more chance. As long as you're here with me, I know I have a chance to prove to you how much I finally realized I love you.'

* * *

" _What are you trying to do?" Pakura clenched her fists, as both her teleportation and resurrection abilities were taken by Ash. She sat on the bed, glaring at him._

" _It's for your own good, Paku." Ash replied, locking the connecting door to prevent the Pokémon from interfering. "First of all, you are ill and I don't really trust the doctors to help. Since you won't listen to reason, that is why you will remain by my side from now on as I try to help you myself. Of course, I will be making sure you don't have the idea of escaping."_

" _What about Cynthia?" Pakura tried not to show fear of what Ash could do to her, as they were alone._

" _What about her?" Ash sounded amused. "Why would I care about her, when I can have someone like you at my arm?" Pakura unconsciously tried to conceal the size of her chest, but to limited success. "Of course, as long as you listen to me and don't step out of line…"_

" _What happens if I do? Would I be punished?" Pakura looked away, not liking what Ash had in mind._

" _Punish you?" Ash sounded surprised. "No, that's something I would never do to you. If you do step out of line or resist…" He hooked a finger under her chin. "The other Elite members would get it."_

" _I may not care about Rosaline, but you can't do this to them!" Pakura protested. "I am the one who crossed the line, they can't be punished for something they didn't do."_

" _That's why I punish them rather than you." Ash shook his head. "Besides, I can't bear to hurt you anymore. After all, I want to make up for what I did, and help you lose this Scarlet Anger. Besides, we have lots to do to fix the mistakes we made."_

' _The fortune in that chocolate was right. He's now my captor and my freedom is cut.' Pakura thought. 'This is not going to bode well for me.'_

" _Besides, when I say the Elites, I'm not talking about Rosaline." Ash added._

" _Who are you talking about, then?" Pakura turned to him._

" _I have decided that you've found the right candidate. Ever since the day I met her, I had the feeling she would be the one. She's intelligent, powerful, talented and have a determination about her...but most importantly, she's ready. I can tell by her aura she had trained a lot abroad. We will push through your plan, and let Akeno take over Rosaline as Elite member." Ash announced. "So when I say the other Elites, I mean Akeno, Jude and Phillip. They'll be fine as long as you do what I say. Remember, I require absolute obedience."_

 _Ash forced his defeated Leader to her feet, as he whispered something in her ear. Her pupils contracted as her eyes widened, the only sign of surprise she showed. "Please don't..." She pleaded in a whisper, though she was silenced when Ash crushed his lips against hers._

'Who knew Ash could be so…direct and forward with his advances?' Pakura thought, fiddling with the couple's bracelet Ash had fixed onto her wrist.

Her current outfit consisted of a sleeveless, knee-length black dress with a pleated skirt. The chest is adorned by a large, white bow, and similarly colored trimmings frame the sweetheart neckline, acting as straps, and circle around the waist. At the left side, there was another white ribbon similar to the one on her chest. 'Well, considering the way I trained and influenced him for six years, I guess this shouldn't be a surprise.'

"You look beautiful, Paku. Shall we go?" Ash smiled, dressed in white dress shirt and black tie under a black jacket with matching pants. It was clear that they planned to go out after overseeing Akeno's challenge. He cuffed Pakura's right hand with aura handcuffs that is tied to his left hand and they left for the Battle Arena together, which Ash had pulled some strings to book before the Top 16.

"Why are we all gathered here?" Jude was puzzled, when they all met up, except Rosaline. Both Jude and Phillip wisely did not comment on their choice of clothing, considering Pakura had a look that clearly told them not to ask any questions.

'Are those two going out?' Jude thought to Phillip.

'I think so. But if that was what we wanted, why do I not feel happy?' Phillip replied, but was interrupted by Ash saying, "PAL Elites earn their own place. I simply believe that Rosaline is not right for it. Furthermore, I found some more information that would prove my point through my precognition." Beside him, Pakura bit her lip, but did not say anything.

Phillip narrowed his eyes as he could see the aura handcuffs between their hands. What is Ash's intention, keeping her chained to him like that? What had happened between them between the time he met Shiki and before they met again?

"So, what is the information that you acquired?" Jude turned to Ash. "She certainly did improve over those years."

"Yeah, but she ain't got nothing on any of us." Ash countered. "Even with that power that enhances her abilities, and given the fact that it was not rightfully hers…I believe it's time to replace her, now that she is back. Ever since the day I met that girl, I had the feeling she would be the one. Paku, as always, has a sharp intuition. She is here to challenge Rosaline for her title, and also to battle all of you to see what rank she'll get." Ash gave a smile at Pakura, who stayed silent. Jude and Phillip looked at each other, knowing who Ash was referring to.

As if on cue, Akeno entered with Rosaline's soul. Rosaline was looking around curiously, as if to register the out-of-body experience that she is currently facing. Jude and Phillip were stunned at her ability, as not many can separate the spirit from the body without killing the body itself, which meant it required a great amount of aura control and precision.

"Well, it comes as no surprise that Paku had been interested for you to be an Elite member." Ash gestured towards Rosaline's spirit. "The performance of your abilities are clearly exemplary."

"Thank you, Champion Ashura." Akeno replied humbly. "But I would have never made it this far without my Pokémon and my friends." She seemed somewhat horrified when she saw Pakura next to Ash.

"What is going on?" Rosaline asked.

"Essentially, you are being challenged for your spot, Rosaline. Which is why I got her to extract your spirit so that both of you can battle. It'll be a hassle to wait for you to wake up, and I want it over and done with." Ash answered. "Take it as an opportunity to show us how much you have grown from that spoilt little girl that thought herself to be above our rules. If you win, I'll submit this to the Hunter's Association, and you'll become an official member of the Elite." He waved the paperwork he had retrieved.

"You never submitted it?" Rosaline rounded on Pakura, disbelief clear in her face.

"You didn't give me a good reason to do so." Pakura retorted. "But it will be if you win. Deal?"

"Deal. But how can I use Mega Evolution like this?" Rosaline gestured towards her body. "And what about my Espeon?"

"One of us can do it for you. As for your Espeon, you can always use other Pokémon. Why would you just depend on your Espeon anyway?" Pakura waved her hand dismissively, looking at her in slight disdain. "So, what types would you be using, Akeno?"

"Grass and Ghost." Akeno said promptly, as she took her place across Rosaline in the battlefield. "I've been affiliated with them for a while now. To make things fair to Rosaline, I would not use Rotom for this battle. After all, Rotom is my signature Pokémon."

Ash nodded. "That's fair."

"Rosaline may have the advantage over her, but Akeno's Ghost types evens the playing field." Phillip commented. "Rosaline can't complain about the type advantages or whatever now."

"I had the distinct disadvantage and she lost." Pakura added dryly.

"Paku's right. It's all about the power and the strategies, not the type matchup." Ash agreed. "Whether or not Rosaline stays with us would depend on this match. Jude, would you do the honour of refereeing the match?" Jude nodded, as he proceeded to the center of the battlefield.

"The six-on-six battle between Challenger Akeno and Elite Rosaline for the PAL Elite Four title will now begin! The battle will end when either side runs out of usable Pokémon." Jude announced.

"Let's do it, Gothitelle!" Rosaline sent out the Astral Body Pokémon.

"Decidueye, battle stance!" Akeno decided to send out the Arrow Quill Pokémon. Rosaline widened her eyes, as she never really interacted with this Pokémon before.

'It's clear she raised her Pokémon really well. I better set time aside to spend with all those new Pokémon I caught recently instead of allowing my other Pokémon to take care of their training regime now that the mysteries have been solved. After all, I can just bring Paku with me.' Ash thought.

"I wonder who's going to win." Phillip remarked.

"As if we didn't already know." Pakura rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come now. Even if you know how the story is going to end, that doesn't make it any less fun to watch." Ash added. "We would just be seeing how the story would achieve the ending." Just then, his Pokéball opened and out came Manaphy, who seemed delighted when he saw that both Ash and Pakura were dressed nicely, as if they were planning to go on a date afterwards. Manaphy sat between the two of them like a small child to his parents.

"Let the battle begin!" Jude announced.

 **BP: If you guys are wondering, no, the date with Shiki is actually not real. It's all in Pakura's head when Ash knocked her out. Her strong psychic powers combined with her mental illnesses caused that to happen. It is because she has Psychic Shields (which is permanently active and she didn't actually need to concentrate to keep it active as it's a passive ability) that Ash was able to save her somewhat easily. Otherwise, he would be trapped in with her as well with no way out.**

 **However, even if Ash did realize his love for her, there are still a lot of struggles Pakura have to deal with, especially with her waning lifespan and Ash still had lots to do in relation to his status as Crown Prince (such as selecting a Crown Princess and fully claiming his status and the arrangement for his trial to prove his innocence once and for all. Oh, and of course, his revenge. No way is he done with them. There is also finishing the work Pakura Goldstein had set out to do to restore one of the cities of his region.**

 **It'll be hard to juggle this alongside his training for Top 16 (I'm not too sure who he should battle. Any ideas?) and taking care of Pakura, who is mentally ill and is still not over her fiancé, whom she perceived as perfect and is clearly struggling with trauma from all that happened to her and the fact that more than half the powers were never hers to begin with (including half the Phoenix power transferred by Shiki that is lying dormant inside her).**

 **Whether he can deal with all these and help Pakura with her emotional issues at the same time and whether his love for Pakura can pull through remains to be seen. Then again, she'll be by his side all the time, as I don't think he'll let her out of his sight for one moment after what she tried to do.**

 **So next chapter would be a decisive battle as to whether Rosaline leaves or stays in the Elite. I might pit her against Pakura later to see who gets to receive the full powers of the Phoenix, since both of them received only half the powers. Anyway, whether or not either of them is meant to receive the full powers of the Phoenix remains to be seen. While it is true Pakura held both the substitutes' titles, someone else can be chosen over her if she was deemed unfit to receive those powers, meaning it can be given to anyone. After all, it's a no brainer who had the powers of the Chosen One.**

 **Of course, as a price Pakura would lose her powers granted to her when she had the titles (although her powers as Dragon Champion would remain to be seen since the powers belonged to Shiki). So what do you think? Is Pakura the next in line for the Phoenix title?**

 **I have another story idea I might implement based on Liar! Uncover the truth as part of my side stories…with Ash as the main character who walked away with ten gorgeous women in a matchmaking party after being cheated on by his girlfriend (probably Misty or some other Pokémon girl I don't like), but like in the game, nine of them are liars.**

 **Which ten, you ask? Well, I'll just leave it to you readers to suggest and I'll select from there, since there are so many pretty girls in the world of Pokémon! Of course, the members of the PAL Pokémon League can be selected as well, just tell me who you want and I'll consider.**

 **Also, Core AI and I would be collaborating on a story. We have been discussing ideas through PM, and we'll be starting on it once we finish our respective stories. It'll be posted on Core AI's profile though, so when the first chapter is posted, go to his profile to read it!**

 **While you are at it, do review the latest chapter of Heartsong Symphony as well! It is quite tiring to write those chapters in Heartsong Symphony after all, I probably put more effort in that story than the others (since I had to watch and write a whole episode in addition to imagining how it would go) combined from the number of words and I lack reviews compared to even the likes of PAL Academy.**

 **Just one more curious question: What song or music do you think would fit each PAL Elite member at the moment?**

 **Anyway, do favourite, follow and review!**


	15. The Confinement

**BP: Sorry for the late update. I sincerely apologize, but my Microsoft Word and the other apps relating to it (and my Adobe apps) unfortunately expired (since it's the school that was paying since it's clear it only lasts three years) and as my computer isn't in the best of condition, I wondered if it would be worth it to buy another license since it's only for one laptop, and getting a new laptop seems a little pointless if I am not working or schooling at the moment. I would use the other laptop, but it's not guaranteed to start up, since it's rather old.**

 **In the end, I would be using my sister's computer to write this chapter, and since I am not used to the keyboard in this laptop…well, I will make do with what I have and try my best to update my chapters for my stories once I finish them. For now, I am going to concentrate on the PAL Chronicles and this Dark Chronicles and once I finish hopefully I can move on to Heartsong Symphony.**

 **Warning: Sexual themes ahead, and focus is mainly on Pakura and Ash. Don't worry, no lemons or explicit scenes, though nudity is mentioned.**

The scoreboard indicated that, Akeno hadn't lost any Pokémon after losing two of them in her team, while Rosaline was down to her last Pokémon, which is a Cresselia. It is also revealed Akeno currently had her Tsareena out.

When Pakura looked at Rosaline's accusatory expression, it was clear she felt that the Z-Moves that Akeno has access to were unfair, though Ash overruled it as he was aware of her being able to use them and according to their regional Tournament Guide, it's a legitimate thing to use in battle. Ash also dryly pointed out that Akeno didn't use her Mega Evolution once during the battle. Furthermore, the Z-Moves had only been used by her once before in the battle while she used Mega Evolution three times, so she shouldn't have a sense of entitlement.

"Tsareena, Trop Kick!" Akeno commanded. Tsareena jumped over Cresselia, and kicked her with such force rose petals and leaves could be seen emitting from the kick itself. Cresselia was sent backwards, but managed to recover her stance.

'Hmm that's a move I can use in my Pokémon Contests or Showcase.' Pakura noted the beautiful yet powerful move, watching Rosaline command Cresselia to use Aurora Beam, only for Akeno to counter it with High Jump Kick. The move combined with Tsareena's glowing leg, making the final move rather colorful as Tsareena gave Cresselia a kick, leaving a rainbow trail behind. Akeno smiled, as she did a series of poses with her Pokémon, surrounding Tsareena with Z-Power.

"It's almost over." Ash whispered, looking at Rosaline's Cresselia, taking a sip of his water bottle as he looked up at the screen above that is displaying the scoreboard of their Pokémon. "There is no way Cresselia can withstand the Z-Move, especially if the type she is using is strong against Psychic types."

"Savage Spin-Out!" Akeno pointed. Tsareena bound Cresselia with full force with threads of silk that she had spat out. Tsareena then threw Cresselia in the air and slammed her onto the ground hard, and sent her back in the air. During that time, Tsareena viciously cut the cocoon she wrapped Cresselia in, damaging her in the process.

Sure enough, like Ash said, the Z-Move ended the match, for Tsareena was seen standing over a fainted Cresselia in triumph.

"That was a savage move." Phillip put a hand over his mouth, as Jude announced Akeno as the winner of the match, hence succeeding in dethroning Rosaline as the Elite member.

"That decides it." Ash closed his eyes. "Jude, Phillip, you are to battle Akeno and see what rank she gets. Call me if she manages to defeat Phillip."

"Very well." Jude and Phillip said in unison.

"After the battles are done or if she loses to one of you, I want you to go and pack Rosaline's things from her Battle Tower room and her room in the Elite Plateau and send them back to her parents' house. Also give Akeno Rosaline's Key Stone and CommuniDex. Akeno, you'll be residing in Rosaline's room until the Pokémon World Tournament is over. After that we will make the living arrangements for you in our Elite Plateau." Ash said to her.

"As you wish." Akeno curtseyed.

"Hey, what about me?" Rosaline protested.

"What about you?" Pakura scoffed. "Seems to me that losing your position is your problem, not ours."

"That's enough. Akeno?" Ash addressed his new Elite member.

"Yes, Champion?" Akeno seemed surprised at being addressed again.

"Bring Rosaline back to her hospital room and put her soul back. I will be informing the Hunter's Association of her forfeiting her place in the tournament later tonight. Now if you would excuse me, Paku and I have a reservation to attend to." With that, Ash turned to leave the Battle Arena with Pakura by his side, carrying a contented Manaphy in her arms.

* * *

Everyone immediately stared at the two once they entered the fancy restaurant. Pakura could hear the whispers of everyone who recognized the current rulers of the region, wondering if they were on a date. Most males glared at Ash and admired Pakura's beautiful appearance, while the females glared at Pakura wishing they were where she was right now.

Ash's lips curled very slightly in amusement when he heard some talking about how they make a very attractive couple. Pakura wished she could throw Ash's arm off her waist that dangled dangerously close to her hip, but knew of the consequences should she resist him. Especially now Akeno had taken over Rosaline's place a few minutes ago…

As a waitress led them to their table, Pakura could hear her muttering something about her being a lucky bitch and how it should have been her.

'Yeah, that's because what you don't see is what happens behind closed doors.' Pakura thought, as she sat down on the chair Ash pulled out for her and started reading the menu, eyeing the candles that were in the middle of the table. 'Oh Shiki, forgive me for cheating on you.' The waitress later returned to take their orders, where Pakura dimly noted that she redid her makeup and changed her hairstyle, trying to impress Ash.

Ash inwardly shook his head. Why would he go for anyone else, when he has the jewel in the crown right in front of him? Especially since he knew first hand that she has a beautiful body with gorgeous assets. Oh, how he'd love to make marks all over her and make sure everyone knew she was his. Of course, that can wait until they are safely back in their room.

"May I have the Thin Cut Cheese Fries for Appetizer and Turkey and Leek Pie for the Main Course?" Ash requested, ignoring the fact that the waitress was in close proximity with him.

"I'll have the Tuna Pasta Salad for Appetizer and Macaroni and Cheese for Main Course." Pakura added quietly.

"Drinks?" The waitress addressed Pakura curtly.

"I will have Berry Burst." Ash nodded.

"Fruit Fling for me." Pakura answered, as Ash reached over to grab her hand.

As the waitress walked away, Pakura turned to Ash. "You really don't have to pretend if you don't want to."

"This again, Paku?" Ash sighed, giving her a somewhat hurt look. "Why do you think I am pretending?"

"Because only a few days ago, you were trying to win someone else's heart. There is no way you can change your mind so fast." Pakura answered grimly. "You know very well Shiki is the wonderful fiancé who tells me constantly that he loves me and takes me out all the time. Everyone called us the perfect couple. We were meant for each other. Unlike you, he doesn't treat me as a substitute to fall back upon if he can't have his first love." Pakura started to wave him off.

"That's not what you deserve. But I never saw you as a substitute. I just love the both of you, until I found out how manipulative Cynthia can get. I am not on a rebound." Ash leant forward and grabbed Pakura by the forearm, stilling the sarcastic, nonchalant motion she was making. "What I want is in front of me and I don't want to let go of something I should have acquired a long time ago."

"You could have fooled me." Pakura gave him a dark look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash frowned.

"Just that for someone who claims that what he wanted is in front of him, you gave an awfully poor imitation of it." Pakura answered cynically.

Ash thought about that, as Pakura had a point under the circumstances. Cynthia's beautiful grey eyes…the way she spoke in that confident and strong tone…the way she composed herself everyday as this independent and cool woman. These were all very compelling images.

But that, he realized suddenly, was all they were. Images. What did he know about Cynthia the person? Nothing except what Pakura had once said about her…that she was just some mindless girl who would do anything to keep her public image. She was smart yes, but not smart enough to realize that she was being lied to, that the traitors were the one that killed his mother. She actually believed them when they came sobbing with their crocodile tears that they saw him kill her and then he tried to kill them. She couldn't see that the traitors were the biggest phonies in the whole world like Pakura did.

The truth was that she probably was a bit of a phony herself, if her being trying to get someone she 'just met' to ask her out was any indication despite admitting that she was still in love with someone else.

So why did he think that he ever loved her?

Ash knew why. He knew perfectly well why, and it wasn't a pleasant thought.

He fell in love with her public image because it was popular.

"It's the time where I thought I might be in love with someone, and figured out that I was wrong, Paku." Ash said honestly. "I want to make up for the lost time, if you would just let me."

"There is no need to lie to me or to yourself, Ash." Pakura shook her head. "There is a difference between liking the thought of dating someone that is generally unattainable and dating someone because you truly love the person for who they are."

Surprisingly, Ash laughed. "You're right. But remember, I have plenty of time to win you over. After all, you know what happens if you directly disobey me…"

Pakura widened her eyes at that reminder and before she could reply, the orders came and both of them started on their dinner. However, Ash was in deep thought as he watched Pakura eat her food elegantly. He was definitely not on the rebound, as he felt totally different about Pakura than he did about Cynthia. It was not just because Pakura love, or at least once loved, him in that way. He was sure this was the real thing and he is not about to let her slip through his fingers again.

If he had to use more drastic measures than he is already using, then so be it. After all, Pakura had taught him to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He looked up when he sensed a familiar presence and saw Cynthia enter the restaurant in a really beautiful formal black evening gown that has sparkles all over it. She looked over and when she saw him, she waved to him. Ash half-heartedly put up his hand in greeting and saw Cynthia narrow her eyes slightly when she saw who he was with.

"I need the bathroom." Pakura said abruptly, apparently sensing her as well and Ash knew she wanted to avoid a confrontation if possible.

"Fine, I will let you go this once. Don't expect that kindness again though. If you try to run away, you know what will happen." Ash warned, whispering so only Pakura can hear. Pakura got up and walked past Cynthia, and both of them regarded each other coolly before Pakura headed to the ladies.

"You look hot in your tux." Cynthia commented as she approached his table.

"What are you doing here, Cynthia?" Ash asked politely.

"The other Champions are meeting here to have dinner together here." Cynthia said. "They wanted to invite you as a fellow Champion, but none of us have your Pokégear number so we can't ask you through TalkTime and we didn't see you these past few days. Steven said it was probably because you were coping with the fact that your fellow Elites were in the hospital and it likely took a toll on you."

Ash nodded, as Cynthia went on, "So I want to ask…are you alright? Do you need anything?"

"No, I got all I need. Thanks for asking." Ash replied.

"Since you are already here, do you want to join us?" Cynthia enquired. "You can bring her along if you like." However, her tone suggested she would rather not have Pakura join them. Much rather not.

"No thanks. Tonight, I just want to spend some time with my lovely wife. Thanks for the invite though." Ash declined, suppressing his anger like how Pakura taught him. 'Speaking of which, maybe I should set that plan in motion to make her my wife.' He smiled, as he knew just exactly how to pull this off without her suspecting until it's too late.

"So…would you still be up for dinner some other time with us or maybe just you and me?" Cynthia asked hopefully.

"We'll see," was what Ash said in answer to her question about him having dinner with them or her. However, unknown to Cynthia, 'we'll see' meant no way in hell, especially when it comes to most of the PAL Elite members, particularly Pakura and Ash. In this case, no way was he going to have dinner together sometime…at least not with Cynthia anyway.

"I hope you would be keeping in touch with that." Cynthia smiled wryly. Her eyes flickered off to the side. "The other Champions are going to arrive soon and your wife might be returning soon. Sorry you have to postpone your wedding like that. I know how devastating this must be for you." Ash narrowed his eyes at the slight hint of venom when she was talking about him not being able to have a wedding because of the tournament.

"Well, good luck for the Top 16." Cynthia winked and waved, before sauntering away, her hips swaying.

"Yeah, you too." Ash nodded. 'Not.'

Pakura returned to her seat just as Cynthia reached the table the other Champions were led to for their dinner. "What did she want?" Pakura blinked after her, noting she looked somewhat disappointed.

"Something she would never have." Ash replied. "Come on, let's finish our food and forget about her. After that, we can continue our date." Something about Ash's smile unsettled Pakura, but she did not say anything.

* * *

"I'll go start your bath." Ash said to Pakura, who had a somewhat blank look on her face and drool at the side of her mouth. Her bare breasts were covered with a white sticky substance and she was in nothing but her panties. "I know how much you don't like doing other things when you're…dirty. I still want to do other things with you before we end the night after all." With that, he gave her a kiss, put on a clean white shirt and jeans instantly and disappeared into the bathroom.

Pakura really should hate him for the things he did to her. But she doesn't. It's really hard to hate someone who looks that good with his shirt off. As much as it grieved her to admit it, she could see that he had a really nice chest and his stomach muscles are extremely well-defined. Pakura sighed and shakily headed to the bathroom, where Ash had already prepared a steaming tub for her. He had even added a small bag of dried flowers that perfumed the air.

"I'll prepare clothes for you later." Ash whispered in her ear. A squeeze at a sensitive area, and Pakura flinched.

Pakura nodded, as Ash closed the door behind him, as she stripped off her stained panties and lowered herself into the silky water. It looked like Ash had added some kind of oil as well. She sighed as she tried to get a grip on things as she scrubbed the sticky substance away from her upper body, especially around the chest area. If anything, Ash had the upper hand here, because he knew what to exploit in order to keep her in line.

She vaguely wondered if Ash knew what had transpired between her and Shiki that would have torn the Dragon Duo apart, if it wasn't for the fact that she was far too forgiving back then. She felt somewhat disgusted with herself when she realized she loved the type of significant others who knew which cards to play in order to take control of her when the doors are closed and treats her with love yet in such a way that it felt like she was a captive.

'Must have something to do with what happened to me in the past.' Pakura thought. 'I need to get out of here, find some fresh new perspective for things.' However, the bathroom door opened, and Ash walked in. Sure enough, he was carrying the clothes that he had promised to bring, though Pakura could tell it was her nightclothes.

Pakura pushed her breasts down and crossed her legs to cover herself more securely when he came in, embarrassed as she was naked and he was still fully clothed. For good measure, she used her illusion to blur out her sexual parts in Ash's perspective.

"You know, it's not as if I never saw that before and yours is not the only one I saw." Ash frowned at her. "But I got to admit, yours is a perfect set."

Pakura stayed silent, knowing it was a somewhat twisted compliment since Ash didn't keep her with him because of her body alone, since Cynthia did have one and yet Ash hated her, at least from what her ability to sense emotions told her. She waited to hear what Ash had to say.

"After your bath, we're going to prepare Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pops and some caramel popcorn. I'm craving those and I want to watch some movies with you before we go to bed." Ash gave her a wry smile.

Pakura bit down a whimper, knowing that she would probably be sharing a bed with him, since their Pokémon are currently sharing a room next door. She wondered if she should just sleep on the couch at the living room, but knew that Ash would never allow it. So, she simply nodded, acknowledging his statement.

"Also, like I said, I am not going to let you out of my sight." Ash went on.

"Where did you go just now, then?" Pakura asked.

"I went to get some papers from the Hunter's Association. There is Akeno's paperwork to do as well." Ash replied. "According to Phillip, she won against Jude but lost to him. So, she'll technically be taking Rosaline's rank, but it's legit instead of being a fraud. She's in the hospital now visiting Rosaline."

"I…see." Pakura nodded absent-mindedly. "Please, turn around so I can get dressed."

"Sure." Ash laughed, and turned his back on her as she got out and dried herself.

When she reached for the dark blue lace nightgown, she realized it was backless and showed off her cleavage, the lace barely concealing her chest. The skirt was also short, the hem being way above her knees. What was more, it was sleeveless with very thin straps.

Pakura looked at Ash uneasily, but got dressed.

* * *

Ash reached over and tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "So, when is it going to be ready?" He asked.

"The ingredients for the popcorn should be ready soon." Pakura nodded towards the brown sugar, corn syrup and salt that she is currently stirring and the vat of already prepared popcorn. "I will prepare the baking soda and vanilla for the popcorn once this is done. Then we can wash up and…" She trailed off, as she remembered the situation she is in. Ash merely smiled as he helped her clean some of the utensils and dry them at the sink.

Of course, if that wasn't bad enough, Jude chose that very moment to come banging into the kitchen. "What are you two doing, hogging the kitchen?" He wanted to know. "You guys have been in here for over an hour!"

"Don't you ever knock?" Ash folded his arms. "What do you want?"

"Not when it's not the bathroom, since this kitchen is shared by everyone." Jude shot him a funny look, as he opened the fridge. "Besides, I'm hungry and I wanted a snack. What do you think it was?" He looked at Pakura and said, "What are you doing cooking with an apron over that?"

Ash glared at him. "It's not any of your business."

"Uh, yeah, it is." Jude shot him a suspicious look, as he extracted a Fruit Punch Trifle Pakura had made the other day. "After all, we all know what happened to her before she became Elite. We are going to help her recover from whatever she is suffering from and rebuild our former relationship with her."

"Go back to your room." Ash rolled his eyes.

Pakura asked, at the exact same time, "Where's Phillip, by the way?" Now she thought of it, she hadn't seen him ever since Akeno's battle with Rosaline.

To Ash, he said, "Whatever." To Pakura, he said, "Phillip is currently fashioning the Key Stone he took from Rosaline on Ash's orders into a Mega Choker for Akeno to wear." Jude gave her a subtle look that said that if she needed help, his door is open before returning to his room.

Luckily for him, Ash did not notice the look that Jude gave her, but Pakura did. She nodded, turned and mixed the popcorn with the mixture she had prepared earlier, staying quiet about the look Jude gave her. Pakura silently handed the finished vat of popcorn to Ash, before going to retrieve the Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pops at the counter.

As she walked with Ash back to their room, she vaguely wondered if Akeno is able to find out this silent, twisted rule Ash had made up.

Meanwhile, back in the hospital, Rosaline finally opened her eyes and flinched at the sight of Akeno sitting on her bed. If the clock is any indication, she had been waiting for a few hours as she knew Akeno returned her soul back right after the battle, which caused her to lose her Elite position. Just like that, everything she worked for, everything she planned, all her new-found popularity all disappeared.

"How do you feel?" Akeno asked, knowing Rosaline is clearly traumatized.

"My family didn't want me anymore! I saw myself killing them!" Rosaline sounded hysterical, as she started crying. What if she already did kill them and they were already dead?

She tried to get up, but Akeno pushed her back down.

"No, you're still injured. You need to rest." Akeno said softly.

"I need to get to my Pokémon. They are all I have left." Rosaline sounded panicky, but Akeno shook her head.

"They are at the Pokémon Center, resting. Those Z-Moves must have done horrible damage to your Pokémon. I'm so sorry!" Akeno apologized. "I'm also incredibly sorry that I took your position away and forcing you to forfeit your place at the tournament."

"No, that's alright." Rosaline shook her head, trying to shake the memories out of her head.

"I only took it because it was a promise to a friend. She needs all the help she can get." Akeno explained.

"What?" Rosaline was shocked.

"I'm so happy I would get more chances to help her from now on." Akeno smiled. "Actually, she offered me the position years ago, but I had to go abroad and train, since I can tell back then I would screw everything up if I took it too early…just like you did. So, don't worry. I'll be sure to take my role seriously and perform my duties to the best I can."

Rosaline didn't watch her as she got up, so she flinched when she leant forward and whispered something in her ear. Rosaline widened her eyes, as she said, "Akeno, you have to tell me who did it!"

Akeno merely gave her a serene smile as she said, "Don't worry, Rosaline. You just take a good rest; I'll help you handle everything else. Goodbye!"

Rosaline slumped onto the hospital bed, not feeling too great at the moment as the memories she had experienced kept replaying in her head.

* * *

A silent scream and Pakura's eyes opened, muscles were stiff and rigid with the tension of trying to hold herself together. The pain over her heart was still there, and her forehead had a layer of sweat, clumping her fringe together. Someone was looking down at her, frown clearly evident in his face.

"Shiki." Pakura whispered.

" _You cheated on me."_ The worst part was that his voice was in a matter-of-fact tone. There was no disappointment in his voice, almost like he was expecting it. _"We had so many plans for the future, are you going to throw it away like that?"_ To emphasize his point, he used telekinesis to float her Pactum Card and a beautiful flower box to her. When she opened the box, she realized there was a house key hidden inside.

"What's this?" Pakura whispered, looking at Shiki.

" _Our shared wedding gift. Don't tell me you didn't remember?"_ Shiki sighed.

"I can't remember anything…" Pakura whispered, looking at her Pactum Card. She carefully extricated herself from Ash's arms and tip-toed out of the room until she reached Jude's room, feeling that he would understand somewhat. She used telepathy to wake him up and got him to open the door. All sleepiness seemed to leave his eyes when he saw her.

"What's wrong?" Jude whispered, as Pakura fiddled with her dead Pactum Card. He politely gave her a robe to cover herself.

"I…I feel like I am cheating on Shiki." Pakura answered, as she huddled under the robe provided. "Shiki was disappointed in me, Jude. I could see it in his eyes."

Jude looked at her with a stab of pity as he knew Shiki was just a hallucination from her mind, but said, "Tell me why you did it."

"Ash gave me an ultimatum." Pakura whispered without elaborating.

Jude narrowed his eyes. While he knew Ash and Pakura were together in a way, there was something off about it. What if that ultimatum was the one?

"You are safe here. Tell me what ultimatum this is." Jude pressed gently.

Their eyes stayed locked for a few brief seconds that felt like an eternity, and then Pakura lowered her head and sighed. "He…" She hesitated as she worked up the nerve to go on. In an attempt to encourage her, Jude sat next to her, moved her hand to the robe-covered back, rubbing in slow but soothing circles.

"Jude, if I step out of line, the three of you will be the ones to get the repercussions." Pakura looked up. "You must get out of Luonto City, find somewhere else to stay. He won't bother looking for you if you go."

"What the hell? You'll suffer alone, Paku. I don't want you to do that…no, the others won't do that either!" Jude was incredulous.

"Oh, worried about me, are we?" Pakura raised a brow. "There is no need to feel indebted to me just because Shiki saved you once. Besides, he did most of the work in defending you."

'You don't remember saving me and my loved ones from Benzene, huh?' Jude thought sadly. 'Furthermore, it was you who suggested to Shiki about taking me in because you sensed my feelings.'

"Look, Ash was like this because of me. You three don't deserve to get punished because of what I had done, especially not the new member." Pakura whispered in a slightly pleading voice, as Jude noted she looked weary. Her shoulders were slumped, arms at his sides as though she didn't know what to do with herself. Jude wondered just how much the events of her past and the struggle with her trauma had taken a toll on her.

Jude resolved to stay by Pakura's side to help her, and merely slipped a card into the flower box. There is no way he is leaving her behind, no matter what she said. "Alright, we can talk about this tomorrow. For now, you are very tired, just rest." Pakura nodded, but instead of going back to Ash's room, she lay on his bed and was out like a light.

'I just hope this doesn't count as cheating…actually I don't think it does, since it's not as if we did anything together.' Jude thought, slipping under the covers and drifting off to dreamland.

In the morning, Pakura woke up to the sound of knocking, and when she opened the door, Ash was standing there smoldering with anger. His hands were clenched to fists, as if he was about to punch someone. "Well, well, what do we have here?" His voice did not betray any of the anger he is feeling. He stormed past Pakura and stood over a sleeping Jude.

"Wait! I went to Jude's room by my own accord. Don't punish him." Pakura pleaded.

"I don't care. He should be punished for accommodating you." Ash hissed, pulling Pakura's robe off. At that point, Jude woke up, and widened his eyes when he saw Ash inside.

"Jude, imagine my surprise when I couldn't find Paku next to me and tracking her to your room." Ash folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Elesa would be so disappointed to find out you cheated on her."

"What?" A voice said. Much to Jude and Pakura's horror, Elesa was standing at the doorway with an Eevee in her arms. "Jude, is it true?"

"Technically, it's not cheating!" Jude glared at Ash.

"They slept together. She was wearing this." Ash gestured towards Pakura's provocative nightgown. Elesa looked disgusted at the lack of modesty the nightgown had.

"She was wearing a robe!" Jude looked around for the robe to present as evidence, only to find it missing. He shot a look at Ash, who most likely teleported it away when no one was looking. "Elesa, please, hear me out!"

"I…I just…I wonder if it was you who actually cheated on Lacey." Elesa shook her head as words failed her, before walking away.

Jude had slumped down onto his bed, his head cradled in his hands, looking as though he might cry.

"How could you?" Pakura rounded on Ash. It was clear he had planned this.

"That's only part of the punishment." Ash said coldly. "The other part would be letting him watch a Five Nights at Freddy Series' of Fail Compilations for half a day…tied up, of course." Pakura put a hand over her mouth as she knew that Jude cannot stomach scary things to that degree and it would likely scar him psychologically all because of her. There is no way she would let Jude suffer from her mistake, no matter what their relationship is.

"Stop this, Ash. I'll do anything, just don't punish him any further." At that point, Ash spotted Pakura's Pactum Card through the Permanent Pact she had created with Shiki. Like Shiki mentioned, a heart with angel wings symbol was at the top of the Pactum Card, indicating that it was a Permanent Pact.

However, it was missing everything else other than the magic symbol behind her picture, meaning it was dead and she would not be able to call forth her artifacts or extra abilities. Apparently, according to Shiki, the pact taps into the power of the bond between two people and would expire if one of them dies.

'Bond, huh?' Ash thought, before saying, "Alright, I'll lower it to two hours. In one condition: You're going to tell me how to make a Pactum Card, because we're going to make one together."

Pakura looked utterly miserable as she nodded her head. Ash gave a satisfied smile, and turned to Jude. "Looks like you got off lightly this time, Jude. Remember, you don't want to know what else I can do. Stay out of this." With that, he put an arm around Pakura's shoulders and led her back to his room. Pakura tuned out Ash, who was telling her his plans on them having breakfast in bed today and other plans that she didn't catch.

* * *

"Are you alright, Jude?" Phillip asked, as he and Akeno sat next to a shaking Jude, who looked like he was on the verge of breakdown. Jude hugged himself as if to keep himself warm, though it was not that cold in the penthouse, considering the facilities provided.

"He's not." Akeno said grimly. "I sense a lot of fear and hints of sadness in his soul. What happened, Jude?" She placed a hand on his shoulder, as a cooling sensation flowed through him, calming him down somewhat.

"Ash, he…" Jude took deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

"Ash?" Akeno looked puzzled.

"Look, about that…" Phillip felt there was no point in hiding from their newest member, and proceeded to tell Ash's story to them and how he became their regional Champion in the first place.

"I see. That explains a lot." Akeno nodded. "Now I know why he only used his middle names in public."

"You believe Ash would never do it?" Phillip widened his eyes.

"Of course. From what you told me, foul play was involved and besides, I can tell you're not lying." Akeno smiled. "So, what about Ash, Jude?"

Jude looked away, holding his left arm. "Well, actually it all started when I saw Paku in this provocative nightgown making snacks with Ash. I could tell Ash made her wear it. Later that night, Paku came to my room and urged us to leave this Battle Tower, away from him. She told me that if she ever stepped out of line in Ash's eyes, the three of us would suffer the consequences instead of her and she felt we didn't deserve this, especially not you, Akeno, since she said it was because of her that he turned out to be how he is today. He's practically holding her captive, guys!"

"That's…" Phillip started.

"Terrible!" Akeno finished, before admitting, "Well, I kind of suspected something was up when he told me I can join in the condition that I don't channel Shiki."

"Yes, but since she was tired, I decided she needed to rest, and gave her a robe to cover herself up and let her sleep in my bed. However, Ash caught Paku in my room this morning. He set it in such a way that Elesa thought I slept with Paku without the robe and it didn't help that her nightgown exposed a lot of skin. Now our relationship is practically history, and later Ash locked me in a room, tied me up and made me watch a Fail Compilation from Five Nights at Freddy's series for two hours. He initially wanted twelve, but Paku pleaded with him not to punish him anymore and she was forced to agree to his condition so I can have a lighter one!" Jude shuddered at the memories of the Fail Compilation.

Akeno had her hand to her mouth while Phillip looked slightly disgusted. "From what you say, there is no way we can leave now, not with her like this." Phillip said. "If she is fearful of what could happen to us if she or we stood up against him, we would have to help her in secret."

"However, if anything, he would always have the upper hand here." Akeno sighed. "I mean, he is holding the highest position and he is the most powerful among all of us. Not to mention he's taught by Pakura to always play his cards right."

"No, but that does not mean we cannot try." Jude shook his head. "Speaking of which, where are they now?"

"I overheard Ash making plans to get to the Kanto Region for some business earlier in his room and Pakura was with him, since I heard her voice." Akeno trailed off. "But I'm not sure where they are now."

"I think I do." Jude answered. "Ash's condition was to have her agree to make a Pactum Card with him in exchange for a lighter punishment for me. They are probably making one as we speak."

Sure enough, Pakura paused halfway in drawing the magical symbol with the glowing magic chalk that magic and aura users usually used to draw the symbol for the creation of the Pactum Card at the floor of the underground gym. While it was true that a Bonder is needed, Ash had found out that the Bonder would be the one with magical power. However, since Pakura had some dormant magic in her thanks to the fact that she had Pakura Goldstein's aura, she was able to create the magic symbol herself to create the Pactum Card and took advantage of the loophole.

Speaking of which, Pakura always wondered why she was unable to access the abilities and artifacts summoned by the Pactum Card she had made with Shiki, since he was apparently still with her, albeit a bit distant.

"Something wrong, Paku?" Ash asked, hugging her from behind as she finished drawing the symbol, which started to glow. Pakura noted how warm he was and how comfortable his embrace was, but it felt like the embrace from danger itself rather than safety.

Pakura panicked, as she knew she'd be disappointing Shiki even further. Her eyes had a fiery glow to it and she accidentally summoned lightning to strike Ash. Ash hissed in pain as the lightning struck him, letting go of her.

"Ash, I'm sorry, I-" Pakura was suddenly very pale. Shiki was going to hate her, she knew it. The thought of him hating her made her clutch at her top, almost ripping it off, her breaths becoming rapid and shallow. "I'm just not feeling too great." She pressed both her hands over her ears as if to block out a painful sound.

Ash knew that it was because of her having made a Pactum Card with Shiki. Hoping to calm Pakura down, Ash began to sing a verse of "In Your Eyes" at her ear. Pakura started to quieten down at the song.

When he sensed this, Ash leaned down and kissed her as both of them embraced in a trance slow-like kiss, exploring each other as their tongues intertwined. Since they were sitting on top of the drawn symbol, they symbol glowed as a pair cards appeared: one for Ash, one for Pakura.

"A simple chaste kiss would be enough." Ash commented as they broke the kiss for air. "But I like this one better."

Pakura stayed silent as she used telekinesis to retrieve her new Pactum Card, which was missing the symbol for the Permanent Pact, indicating it was just a Temporary Contract. It looked totally different, and the name on her new Pactum Card said "Amethyst Paradinight", likely due to the fact that she knew her real name.

'The fact that I now have another Pactum Card…is so strange. I almost feel as if I'm in a dream. Is that dream a good one or a bad one?' Pakura thought, watching Ash study his new Pactum Card and raising his brow, showing he noticed the lack of mark that indicated the Permanent Pact.

"Well, we'll definitely be training with these later." Ash commented, as he pulled her up and locked their wrists together with the aura handcuffs. "Come on, you still have the Pokémon Contest and the Showcase to judge."

As they walked out of the Battle Tower with their respective walking Pokémon, they ran into Paul, Gary and Tracey.

"Hey guys!" Ash called out to them, as they stopped talking and turned to him. "Guess who I'm dating." He nodded towards their intertwined hands as he gave her a subtle look not to tell on him since not even their Pokémon knew what was going on between them. Pakura stayed silent as she waved at his shocked friends.

"No way!" Gary gasped, an expression of happy surprise on his face.

"Yup." Ash nodded. "I finally got what you meant when you told me about that Skitty." Pakura's Skitty purred and tilted her head, wondering why they would say her name.

"You mean, you're already over Cy-" Paul started.

"Nope! That never happened!" Ash cut him off, holding out his free hand, as all his friends laughed good-naturedly.

"Do you and your girlfriend want to join us for lunch later today?" Tracey asked. "It'll be a good time to catch up and get to know her better. See if she's good enough for our friend."

"Sure, but I'd like to go support my girlfriend, since she still needs to judge both the Contest and the Showcase." Ash smiled. "We can go for lunch after the Pokémon Contest is over."

"I hear the Plaza is serving Grilled Rump Steak as a lunch special. I thought we could try it." Paul suggested. "Then we can try some Chocolate Fondue as dessert while we catch up."

"That sounds swell, Paul." Ash nodded. "Alright, we better go, I'll see you at lunch." With that, he waved to his friends and both of them made their way to the Contest Hall. The moment they entered, Pakura was immediately whisked away to a room to be prepped for the Contest, while Ash took this chance to talk to Aquamarine before she delivered the dress to Pakura.

"Do you think you can do it?" Ash asked, regarding his request.

"Of course, I can do it within that time frame, but it would be extra to deliver it to another region." Aquamarine replied. "Some of them can be taken from my personal collection and others can be based on the designs I have not put to life yet."

"No problem." Ash shook his head, as he took out a pen and a cheque book, ignoring Jude who came in, apparently preparing for the Pokémon Contest as well. Jude gave him a glare that could freeze molten lava, no doubt still angry about Ash's punishment. "How much do you want?"

* * *

Pakura dried her hair with the heat emitting from a fireball she had conjured, as she had got all the mousse and goop out of it earlier. She was currently in the ladies' room washing off the makeup the stylist had slathered on her and had changed out of her dress into a dark blue ribbon blouse that had a small cleavage window along with a black skirt for lunch with Ash and his friends.

'Well, at least things just got more interesting. All the competitors who made it to the Top 8 of that Interregional Contest did win at least one Grand Festival before. So, I'll be assured that I'll face a fellow Top Coordinator.' Pakura thought, as she brushed her long, silky black hair with a pink sparkly brush while looking at the big, gold mirror in front of her.

However, despite the fact that everything about her appearance looked great on the outside, she knew that her mind was in absolute turmoil at the moment, evidenced by the miserable reflection frowning back at her. After all, despite the glamorous life she seemed to lead, she was a mentally ill girl with no morals, with powers that she never developed by herself and her fiancé was likely on the verge of breaking their engagement.

What was Ash's motive to try and make this twisted relationship work? That was the question Pakura had been asking herself as she put Sparkling Usuki Light Pink Lipstick on her lips. After all, Ash never once separated the connection for the aura handcuffs, meaning she would never be far away from him again as the connection between those aura cuffs only allowed a maximum of twenty meters between the users. In fact, Ash would never let her out of his sight, but he's currently busy writing a letter to Arceus-knows-who and getting Tenma to deliver it. Just then, the door opened and she raised her eyebrows when she saw Cynthia.

"You did something to Champion Red." Cynthia accused.

Pakura very calmly put the lid back on her lipstick and slipped it into her designer handbag. Then she said, "Has it ever occurred to you that Champion Red found out your real motives of wanting to go out with him? That he found out how your true colors?"

"What do you mean?" Cynthia demanded.

Pakura rolled her eyes. "I mean, we all know you still love Ash. However, look how you threw him under the bus and apparently, you're on the rebound since you're now pursuing Red and even acting a little strange around him. If I were Red, I wouldn't want someone who would choose their public image over me or someone who would just move on to someone else shortly after a breakup for the matter."

Besides, if anyone should be acting strange around Ash, it's her. After all, she's the one who saw him with his pants off, not Cynthia. Could she say that what she saw was very impressive?

Not, actually, that she had anything much to measure with. Except Shiki. Then again, she would never use that as a factor to decide whether the person is a keeper or not, since that is just a bonus.

"I had to uphold justice. That has nothing to do with my image." Cynthia clenched her fists. "And how dare you insult me!"

"Yeah? Did you think I was implying that you're a slut? Because that's not an insult, Cynthia, that's true…" Pakura folded her arms, smirking when Cynthia looked like she was about to punch her. "Anyway, what makes you think that I did something?"

"There is no way you are married to him. After all, he was paying attention to me until a few days ago and all of a sudden, he's calling you his wife. You brainwashed him, didn't you?" Cynthia pointed at her.

Pakura let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh, right. As if I could do anything while I was in the hospital the same time Red lost interest in you. I'm so glad you have faith in my abilities."

Cynthia hated to admit it, but Pakura was right. She would not be able to do anything to Red if she was in the hospital. Speaking of hospital…

"It's an ability that had caused the girls to be landed in the hospital, is it not?" Cynthia asked. "The doctor said that they are not suffering from any normal ailment and Rosaline is also suffering from the same thing."

'I must have used too much power in controlling them. Then again, their mentality isn't as high as Phillip's which is why he recovered faster.' Pakura thought. "From what I overheard, Max should have firsthand knowledge of the effects itself. I suggest you seek mystical help for this one since it's at a supernatural level. Do some research and you might find out where the help you need is." As she said this, the door opened again.

"Pakura, we are going to be late." A girl in auburn hair and grey eyes wearing a casual light blue dress asked. Pakura frowned when she saw that her handcuff was connected to the girl's, meaning she was Ash in disguise. It was clear he had finished the letter and delivered it.

Pakura and Ash left without a second glance at Cynthia. As they left however, Ash dropped his disguise and was able to change from his dress into a black shirt, green jacket and jeans. He turned to her and asked, "What were you two talking about?"

"Hmm...she wanted to know how to save the girls." Pakura replied. "When they wake up, you'll be sure they'd be looking for you again to make sure you take them as your bride so they can become Rota's Crown Princess in exchange for your freedom."

"Should we be worried?" Ash raised his eyebrow.

"Hardly...even if they recover, there is no way they can interfere with our plans to prove you innocent in the first place. They'll be scratching their heads long after we finished what we started…in jail, maybe. Or even in the Distortion World." Pakura shook her head.

"You did a great job today. We should enjoy lunch." Ash suggested, before both of them entered the Plaza.

'Must be nice to be able to change his clothing in an instant.' Pakura thought, as both of them headed to the table where Gary, Paul and Tracey were waiting for them.

* * *

"Now this is cute." Akeno admired the pink dress with white puffy sleeves. To match her outfit, she was wearing light pink silk slippers with ribbons on it. Her fringe was put to the side with a pink ribbon that had a brown round center.

"You look gorgeous, Mystic Akeno!" The shopkeeper admired. "Is this what you're going to wear to confirm your position as the newest Elite Four member?"

"Yup. Got to make an impression!" Akeno gave a serene smile. "I got to wear something other than my spirit medium outfits, since it's a special occasion!"

"Yeah, it's thanks to you that Ariolo Village now has another tourist attraction where everyone can buy souvenirs and even buy some new clothes to fit in our village." The shopkeeper nodded, as Akeno went back to change into a cute dress that is light blue at the top with a picture of a cupcake printed on it and light pink at the skirt there was an adorable ribbon tied at the side acting as a waistband. "The money would be put to good use to fund the facilities and cover training costs for the trainees."

"That's good to hear." Akeno nodded, as someone screamed, "It's a crime! Someone just picked the flowers from the flower-covered fountain!"

"I wonder what's going on." Akeno frowned, as she took her dress and made her way to the village square.

Meanwhile, a policeman was screaming at the fact that if it was just the surface, they could easily add more flowers to repair it later but nearly the entire structure was picked off.

"Hydrangea, Lisianthus, Orchid and Peony!" The policeman snarled at the teenage boy, who was holding on to the bouquet he made with the flowers he picked. "Destruction of property…this is truly a heinous crime! I am going to have to write you up! Come with me to the station!"

"But old man, I had a good reason of doing what I did." Max protested.

"Oh? Fine, go on, spill it!" The policeman glared.

"It was too beautiful not to be used as a gift!" Max looked down at the bouquet.

"That does it! You are coming with me…down to the police station!" The policeman fumed.

"This is bad!" Cynthia gasped. "He's about to get arrested!"

"Why did he pick those flowers in the first place?" Trip asked Brock.

"As usual, he wanted to impress Princess Pakura with his gift, hoping she'd go on a date with him." Brock replied. "Furthermore, he wanted a nice Get Well Soon gift for May and the others in the hospital. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford those attractive bouquets on sale in the flower shops."

"Please wait, Officer!" A voice said.

"Ah…if it isn't the creator of the fountain structure." The policeman said, as Akeno came to the scene. "Just look at what he reduced your precious flower creation for our fountain into!"

"Oh my goodness!" Akeno looked somewhat shocked.

"It appears things got from bad to worse." Cynthia winced. "The creator of the flower decoration had arrived."

"Wow, she's beautiful!" Brock admired, about to go and ask her out, only to earn himself a Poison Jab from Croagunk, who dragged him away.

"How could you?" Akeno cried to Max. "Leaving so many flowers to waste. You were the one who promised to use up all the flowers." She puffed out her cheeks and put her hands on her hips.

The policeman looked surprised as Akeno picked off the rest of the flowers and helped Max make two beautiful bouquets, even adding ribbons to keep the bouquets together. "I was so proud of the parts where at least two flowers come together, too. Why didn't you use those? See, don't they look beautiful?"

Max nodded dumbly, as the policeman said, "Oh, I see! My apologies. So, he's a dismantler who was going to use the flowers for other purposes before they wilted."

"Yes, sir. I hired him, since he wanted to use the flowers as a gift." Akeno nodded.

"You should know better." The policeman nodded to Max. "If you're in the middle of deconstructing duties, you must first place a sign or notice to notify the public so we can give you space to do so! Alright then, I'll be taking my leave!"

"Your diligence is much appreciated." Akeno curtseyed to him, and turned to the crowd. "I'm so sorry for the chaos!"

"Ah, so it wasn't a crime scene after all!" The crowd sighed, laughing at their mistake.

"Oh, before I forget. Congratulations on your new position, Mystic Akeno!" The policeman said. "The Induction Ceremony and Regional Tour would be happening before long so please get some rest and take a break from all your duties, especially the one as Botanical Hunter. All of us from Ariolo Village and the Cheveyo Clan wish you nothing but the best from the bottom of our hearts!"

"Such kind words!" Akeno blushed.

"Max got lucky there." Cilan commented. "I wonder who this girl is. She's far too forgiving." The others shook their heads, indicating they did not know.

* * *

"So, your name is Akeno." Max said, as all of them were having tea and chocolate éclair at the Cheveyo Manor, which was the largest and most elegant building in Ariolo Village and served as home to the Cheveyo Clan. "Thanks a lot; you really saved me back there."

"Oh no, don't mention it. In fact, I should be the one thanking you." Akeno waved her hands.

"Why's that?" Cynthia frowned.

"Well, because you said my flower arrangement was…too beautiful not to be used as a gift!" Akeno squealed. "It was made from scratch you know? I had to pick and preserve those flowers for a while before sketching a rough design of what I want and where to put the flowers…when I heard you say how nice looking it was, it makes me so happy! I love flower arranging very much!"

"What a sweet and generous person…but can you tell me what did they mean by your new position?" Cynthia was puzzled.

"Oh, actually I am the newest PAL Elite Four member. I challenged Rosaline for her title and defeated her." Akeno informed them.

"WHAT?" Everyone shouted. "So, you're the newest member everyone was talking about?"

"Wait, I know you guys from television. You guys used to be Ash's friends until he killed his mother." Akeno gasped. "What are you doing here? Did you know the Elite members might kill you if they know you're here? The Champion's from the Kanto Region, so he's one of the few that believes Ash didn't commit the crime of killing his mother. The other members also share this belief."

Cynthia sighed, but told her the reason why they were in Ariolo Village.

Akeno nodded. "I see. So, you believe that one of the Elite members had some ability that caused your friends to be landed in hospital in a comatose state, which is why you came here to see if any spirit mediums possess the ability to lift curses such as that ability."

"That's the only logical conclusion we can think of." Trip shrugged.

"Yeah, furthermore Princess Pakura took Manaphy away and he saw her as the mother. We are very sure it's the same Manaphy that saw my sister as his mother. She must have kidnapped Manaphy and did something to him!" Max accused.

"I was thinking she might have done something to Champion Red too, to make him think he was her husband." Cynthia frowned. "Although she claimed she was in the hospital at that time."

"Yeah, Champion Red was about to ask Cynthia out, but something must have happened, since Cynthia saw him on a date with her last night and he practically ignored Cynthia!" Trip fumed.

"How could he ignore such a beautiful broad like her?" Brock frowned, jealous that Red had Cynthia's attention, as Akeno took out a piece of paper and a pen.

"I cannot bear to see people's happiness being taken away." Akeno spoke up, as she drew a map on the paper. "Look, follow this route in the forest next to Luonto City. It's the passage through the forest where you can hope to pass unnoticed by wild Pokémon that is only known to Hunters. Tomorrow, let us meet outside the cave indicated here." She pointed towards a diagram she drew to represent the cave. "I promise…I'll bring Manaphy to you guys and tell you the way to help save your friends and to lift the curse that is cast on Champion Red!"

"Are you sure?" Cynthia sounded concerned. "Won't the Leader or Champion punish you for stealing Pokémon?"

"I'm still their teammate. Don't worry about me. Come to think of it, you're technically in enemy territory, so worry about yourselves first. However, I'm sure the strong bonds you share for one another will help you get through anything!" Akeno steeled her fingers together. "Who knows, maybe one day I'll find friends like that. I'll deliver that bouquet to Princess Pakura if you like and set a date with her for you."

"You're one mature and sensible girl." Cynthia acknowledged, as Max happily handed her the bouquet he intended to give to Pakura. "Why did you even join the Elite members?"

Before Akeno could answer, a knock on the door was heard and a voice said, "Mystic Akeno, we've come to escort you to formally meet the other Elite members!" Akeno gestured to the back door, silently telling them to escape through there. As Akeno distracted her escorts by inviting them in, she winked at them, as they smiled back, making their way back to Luonto City.

However, once they were out of sight, Akeno handed the bouquet to one of the escorts, who turned out to be Jude. "I don't know why you have to do this." He grumbled, as Phillip took off his disguise.

"It'll be good for you to get your girlfriend back…and ruin them at the same time. We'll be killing two birds with one stone." Akeno replied sweetly. "I have a plan to make Elesa want a word with you and you can give her that bouquet then and make it a date. Good thing I predicted this was going to happen through my tarot cards, no?"

"How are you going to ruin them?" Phillip raised his eyebrow.

"Well, the ability to make people hallucinate would certainly be pivotal to this plan. After all, our main goal is to collect evidence that would incriminate them, so it'll be their words against theirs. However, I would like to think that Princess Pakura wants to handle Cynthia herself." Akeno admitted. "But since the people that I channel would be able to use their original abilities, we think it would be a good idea to channel Shiki, since he had the ability to do so."

"But won't that break the rule, seeing Ash said you can't channel him?" Jude asked. "And what do you mean by we?"

"Sorry, did I say we? I mean I." Akeno smiled, as the two looked at each other with slight fear in their eyes. "Anyway, the Top 16 would happen the day after tomorrow, and they are going to Kanto tomorrow so we can pull this off."

"How do you know?" Phillip was puzzled.

"They are watching and listening everywhere, Phillip." Akeno gave a strange smile. "You have no idea how much they like to gossip."

* * *

Jude came to stage wearing a white dress shirt with a blue bow tie with chocolate brown pants and matching boots, signaling the start of the Showcase. Everyone, especially the girls, cheered at his appearance.

"After a delay, the Interregional Pokémon Showcase would now commence! The first half of the round would consist of a Trivia Quiz, where the topic would be chosen by the roulette!" He announced with somewhat less enthusiasm than usual, indicating a screen that had all the possible topics the Trivia Quiz would have, which ranged from specific Pokémon types to geographical locations and even various attractions around the Pokémon World. Apparently, he had taken over the hosting since he got out of the hospital.

As the announcement is heard, everyone cheered and provided applause. Ash was sitting at the front row with his Pikachu and Lucario watching Pakura from her place at the Judge's table as he politely clapped along with the audience.

Pakura was frowning, as like Ash she noticed that his announcements had less ardency than usual, no doubt still dispirited from the events of this morning. She wished she could do something, but Ash made it clear she was not to help him. Otherwise, the others would suffer the repercussions from her interference. Jude walked over and pressed a button, and the lights blinked rapidly from topic to topic. He then pressed the button again with more force than usual, causing the lights to slow down until the light landed on "Elite Four Members".

"And the topic chosen for the first half is Elite Four Members!" Jude commented, as a racing arena rose next to the Performers. "Let's see how much the Performers know about all the Elite members around the region! First Performer to answer five questions correctly would be the one to move on to the Free Performance Round! To answer the question, their Pokémon must complete a task, which would vary for each group, so it will require the Pokémon-Performer team to help each other out." Everyone laughed at the pun Jude had made.

"Well, without further ado, please welcome our first group of competitors!" Everyone cheered as a platform lifted three girls into the stage with their Pokémon next to them. "For the first group, the task the Pokémon would undergo is…the water trial!" At that, a fast-flowing swimming pool that covered the entire breadth of the stage appeared in the middle nearer to Jude's right side. At the other side were three beautiful pink baskets that were filled with luscious chocolates.

"Each Pokémon would have to find a way to get to the other side of the river and without flying for Flying-type Pokémon by themselves. Whichever Pokémon is able to get to the other side and retrieve the basket of chocolates back to their trainers first would earn the right to answer." Jude explained, as he took the tablet corresponding to the topic that he had picked. "Of course, the trainers can keep the basket of chocolates to bring home and eat." The girls' eyes lit up at the sound of them being able to bring the chocolates back.

"First question: What is Leader Clair's relation to Kanto Elite member Lance?" Jude asked. "Ready? Go!" The Pokémon at the start line raced to the pool and tried to figure a way to the other side. Ash watched as one of the Pokémon froze the pool and all the others skated their way there, taking the basket and racing back to their trainers. A flash of lights lit up at the stand one of the Performers was standing behind.

"By a hair's breadth, Performer Elma gets the right to answer!" Jude announced. "Your answer please, Performer Elma!"

"Um…" Elma said thoughtfully. "The answer is…wife!" A buzzer sounded, indicating it was the wrong answer. The audience groaned at her answer. Aria gave an awkward smile while Pakura's expression did not change.

'Well, to be fair, if I remember what Paku said about tradition, some clans would marry fellow clan members to keep their lineage pure. Some even married their own cousins for a so-called respectable marriage and keep that pure lineage.' Ash thought.

"Too bad! That's not the right answer. The right to answer now goes to Performer Sara Lee!" Jude turned to the next Performer.

"Y-Yes!" Sara Lee said. "The answer is sister!" She was surprised when the buzzer rang again, indicating the answer was wrong.

"That's not the right answer either!" Jude sighed. "Performer Kayleigh, the right now goes to you."

"I know! The answer is niece!" Kayleigh smiled, but her smile dropped when the buzzer rang again.

"Wrong again. As all of the Performers got the answer wrong, we would now have PAL Duchess Pakura to answer the question." Jude nodded to his Leader.

"For future reference, Leader Clair and Champion Lance are cousins. Both of them are born in Blackthorn City under the Dragon Clan." Pakura announced.

"Alright, let's get to the next question: What is Elite Phillip's Star Sign?" Jude read out from the tablet.

Meanwhile, everyone was watching the broadcast live in a bar. A certain model was sitting at the counter of one of the high-class bars watching the Pokémon Showcase, or more specifically, the host of the Pokémon Showcase. She sipped at her Strawberry Heaven that she had ordered as she watched Jude commentate the event. Just then, a bartender set a glass of Russian Cappuccino in front of her.

"Oh, I didn't…" Elesa started, but the bartender said, "It's from a sweet-looking girl upstairs. She has eyes that would make emeralds jealous. She said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf." Elesa frowned as she looked up, knowing there was an upper level for this bar.

"Thanks." Elesa nodded.

"Don't worry. I went ahead and gave you top." The bartender winked, as he walked away. Elesa took her glass and headed upstairs. She was surprised to see Phillip and some strange girl that she never met before. Elesa hated to admit it, but she had an innocent beauty about her that make her look serene and demure.

"Is Jude single?" Akeno asked, sensing Elesa behind her. "Because I really want to ask him out on a date, but someone like him should be taken." Elesa knew she should not interrupt this conversation, as she wanted to hear more. Hence, she sat down at the seat behind Akeno.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if you should go after him." Phillip confirmed. "His girlfriend just dumped him, thinking he cheated on her with our Leader. What a joke."

"But Pakura's engaged! She would never cheat on her fiancé with Jude." Akeno gasped. "I know her after all."

Elesa widened her eyes. Pakura was already taken?

'Of course, she already had an engagement ring!' Elesa thought, remembering an image of Pakura having a ring at her left ring finger. 'How could I be so stupid!'

"It might be for the better if she broke up with him anyway." Phillip shrugged. "He's already traumatized enough after the Champion punished him for something he didn't even do. Poor Jude had to pull himself together to host the Pokémon Contests and now the Showcase. No one could tell he was emotionally strained since he's an actor and can put up a front, but I can tell the subtle signs. Besides, we are too different from other Elite members."

"Can we go see him in his private dressing room during break?" Akeno asked Phillip. "You know to go cheer him up."

"Sure. You can ask your crush out on the date then, if you want." Phillip suggested, as both of them walked past Elesa, who was listening silently.

'Oh, no you don't, girl!' Elesa thought, downing her drink quickly. 'Jude is mine and I would not let anybody take him from me!'

Phillip turned to her and used telepathy. 'How did she feel?'

'Jealous. I have the feeling she would not want to lose to me when it comes to Jude.' Akeno giggled. 'Mark my words, she'll be having her drink in takeaway and be rushing to the Performance Theater to wait for Jude and asking him for a word.'

'Well, he may have said she couldn't help, but he didn't say we couldn't.' Phillip shrugged. "So how are the preparations for your formal introduction to the region?" Phillip asked verbally, as they headed downstairs.

Akeno tilted her head up in thought, before saying, "Really well."

Unknown to him however, he and Akeno walked past Diantha who was sitting at one of the tables enjoying a drink and watching the broadcast as well. She nearly spilled her drink when she saw Phillip with an unfamiliar but sweet-looking girl. Akeno, however, noticed Diantha watching and gave her a serene smile before leaving the bar, letting her figure out what that smile meant on her own.

Meanwhile, Jude was taking off his bow tie, requesting an attendant to bring him some Hazelnut Latte while he tried to read a fashion magazine to compose himself before the second half of the Showcase commenced.

Maybe he could request to spend the night somewhere else so that he didn't really have to think about the problems that currently plagued his mind.

When he looked up, he saw Elesa at the reflection. She seemed to be looking around for someone. "Elesa?" Jude was puzzled, as he slowly turned around to face her. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." Elesa told him.

Jude sighed, but said, "Alright. We can talk after this Showcase is over."

* * *

While Akeno and Phillip were on their walk, they ran into the Blackthorn City cousins. One of them was complaining about how the Performers could think of them as husband and wife, while Lance just stayed quiet, sighing. Apparently, he was aware of their old tradition where cousins do marry each other for the sake of their reputation and lineage. As Clair was complaining about them not knowing their relation, her stomach growled, much to her embarrassment.

"Well if you were hungry, why didn't you say so?" Lance looked at his cousin. "Come on, I know just the place." As they walked away however, Akeno saw that Clair dropped something, and went over to pick it up. It turned out to be a leather wallet with a symbol of a Chinese Dragon on it.

"Might be hard to eat without this, Clair." Akeno spoke up. Lance and Clair turned to see Akeno holding Clair's wallet that was filled with Pokédollar notes. Akeno looked somewhat amused as he watched Clair frantically pat around her outfit.

"Good to see you too." Akeno laughed, as Clair took the wallet back from Pakura and put it away.

"Guess I dropped it." Clair mumbled. "Thanks, er…?"

"Akeno, at your service." Akeno curtseyed to the cousins.

"What are you guys doing here?" Lance asked the pair.

"I'm supposed to prepare for my Induction Ceremony and formal introduction." Akeno replied.

"For what?" Clair was puzzled.

"She's our new Elite member, actually." A voice said, as Akeno and Phillip stepped aside to reveal Ash and Pakura. "She challenged Rosaline for her title and won, effectively replacing her. Due to this, Rosaline would have to forfeit her place in the tournament, so you're guaranteed a place in the Top 8 since she was going to be your next opponent."

"Oh…I see." Lance seemed disappointed.

"That's…wonderful news." Clair turned to her cousin. "Our people would be proud to find out you made it to the Top 8. When they arrive, they would be able to rest before they watch the Top 8!"

"True, you're one step closer to winning." Ash nodded. "But remember, we still have four more people representing the PAL Region in the Top 16. If we see you down the line, don't think we'll go easy on you." He was proud of the fact that none of them have been eliminated in the tournament so far…unless you count Rosaline, but she wasn't a true member anyway. 'Not to mention there is this new Z-Move mechanic that we would eventually start using…I'll ask Paku and Akeno to teach us how it works sometime. Shiki did say Paku can use it.'

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Lance gave a wry smile.

"So, get your victory food while you still can." Ash returned his smile with a confident smirk. "I'd love to stay longer and talk, but we got a lot of work to do. Especially since Paku and I need to head to Kanto after the Showcase is over."

Pakura had a flicker of surprise in her eyes for a split second, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. Fortunately, no one noticed except for Akeno.

"What for, may I ask?" Lance asked Ash.

"They're going to visit Pallet Town and investigate the murder case from six years ago." Phillip answered promptly. He knew as Ash had told him his intentions earlier. "Both of them were assigned to the case to see if there is more to the story than what the witnesses said. After all, evidence is everything to us."

"Yeah, I hope you guys find something. Even I think that story is bizarre…there is no way a boy like Ash would suddenly go rogue and kill his own mother." Lance frowned.

"Apparently, the witnesses told the police that she was trying to get Ash to give up on his dream because he was losing all the Leagues." Clair told her cousins. "His friends said he got angry and well…"

"I think Ash is the type to attack only if there is a Pokémon or his loved ones were in danger." Lance shook his head. "Personally, I think Ash didn't kill his mother and there is foul play involved. I really don't like the way Cynthia wanted to handle this case. I know she is a Champion and all, but it looked like she wanted to keep up her independent and efficient yet beautiful image as the Champion rather than go through all the trouble of finding the truth for one person. She may seem similar to a friend of mine, but she really is completely different. Sorry that she had her eyes set on you. It must be tough."

"No, it's ok." Ash shook his head. "I already have someone to help me through all that." He glanced lovingly at Pakura, who kept quiet. Akeno noted the fact that she was glancing at the aura handcuffs that Ash had locked on both of them. Only Clair and Lance can't see it because they could not use aura.

"Are you two officially a couple now?" Clair made a little gesture with her finger, connecting both Pakura and Ash.

Ash nodded, as he held tightly to Pakura. "That, we are. Well, we better go. Break is almost over after all. Good talking to you two, though." He directed this at Lance and Clair and waved at them, before both of them left the scene.

"Did you at least get what you want?" Pakura gave Ash a look, wondering what he was up to.

Ash nodded. "I almost feel bad for them. But anything for you, Paku." He turned her around and gave her a slow, sweet kiss.

'What is he planning?' Pakura wondered.

* * *

'This could be my last chance to call for help.' Pakura's eyes darted to the bathroom door, where Ash was currently showering before both of them would prepare to go to the Kanto Region. She took out her Pokégear and dialed the first number she could think of.

One ring. Two rings. Three rings.

"Hello?" Steven's voice answered the phone.

"Oh, thank goodness. You've got to help me, Champion Steven." Pakura whispered.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked, concerned.

"It's our Champion. He…he's confining me to his room and he wouldn't even let me go anywhere without him. I can't even get out of his sight anymore." Pakura admitted.

"What?" Steven was shocked. "Is that...true?"

"I wish I was lying." Pakura shook her head, though Steven couldn't see it.

"Did you tell the other members?" Steven enquired urgently.

"He threatened the well-being of the other three if I did anything." Pakura answered quickly. "The others tried to help, but…"

 _"When I say stay out, you better effing stay out. If not, you'll be sorry!" Ash threatened Jude, as Pakura watched on with slight worry in her eyes._

"This is…" Whatever Steven wanted to say, Pakura did not hear, for a hand snatched the Pokégear away from her. She turned around to see a shirtless Ash out of the shower, before finding herself tied down with chains on the bed, as Ash put the Pokégear to his ear.

"I am only going to say this once: Don't tell anyone about this, don't call her ever again, and don't mention of this incident whenever I'm with her, or else you will be subjected to absolutely severe punishment from me. Got it?" Ash hissed.

"Red, stop this! Champion Steven has nothing to do with it!" Pakura shook her head, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"Why are you doing this to her? What has she done to you?" Steven was angered.

"It's none of your business. It's between Paku and I." Ash replied.

"You can't do this to your own Leader." Steven protested.

"I can and you will not tell me what to do. That's another thing: don't tell me what to do or else you'll be subjected to the same punishment as the other three conditions. Now, I don't want to hear your voice in front of me ever again. You wouldn't want to know what I can do to make you wish you were never born." Ash replied coldly.

"How dare you-" Steven started.

"Shut up." Ash said coldly. "If you choose to pursue this matter, I will show you exactly why the PAL Elite Four and Champion are different from the other regional ones. Your members would not be spared either." Ash said nonchalantly. "Do you agree to the terms or not?"

Steven had no choice but to sigh in resignation. Ash took this as a yes and hung up.

"Please don't do that again." Ash turned to Pakura, as he locked Pakura's Pokégear in a safe. "From now on, if you need to make phone calls, I'll be monitoring them." Pakura bit her lower lip as Ash used his telekinesis to unplug the phone located outside and throwing them into the safe as well, before locking them with a passcode.

"Come on, let's go. We have an appointment to go to." Ash let her out of the chains, as he used his telekinesis to pack their belongings into suitcases in an instant, even folding all the clothing in mid-air at once before putting them into a neat pile into the suitcases.

Just then, one of the Luxury Balls opened and out came Manpahy. _"Mama!"_ Manaphy squealed, jumping into Pakura's arms. _"Are we going on a family vacation?"_

"Something like that, Manaphy." Ash smiled, before giving Pakura a look. 'See? Manaphy is so happy when we are together, loving each other. You wouldn't want to upset poor Manaphy, would you?'

Pakura stared at the happy Manaphy, before conceding that Ash had a point. She nodded as she helped Ash arrange their room neatly with her own telekinesis, before going out of the room for a drink. As she sipped the vanilla hot chocolate, the same key to the house that she was supposed to reside in with Shiki fell out of her pocket. It triggered a flashback, making her widen her eyes slightly in surprise. The cup slipped out of her fingers, spilling the hot drink on her clothing and causing the cup to shatter against the floor.

" _No!" Pakura cried out, running towards her unseen attacker. The attacker simply targeted her left arm with another attack, severing it. The force of the slash was enough for her to fall to the ground._

 _A traumatized Pakura got up, took her left arm and ran along the forest. She didn't care where she went or if she was headed for another danger, as long as she was safe from the attacker. Anything would be better than facing them._

 _Pakura heard something behind her, and as she turned around, she saw an axe blade fly towards her, intent on burying itself in her head._

Pakura stumbled back, suppressing a cry. She looked down and examined both of her intact arms, fear flickering in her eyes. She bent down and picked up the key as she regained control of herself. She froze as she saw Shiki's reflection instead of her own on the key. Pakura pulled on her hair, and felt her own long hair.

From the doorway, Ash and Manaphy watched Pakura with concern, with the former wondering what the key was for. From the looks of it, it was likely for a house. Perhaps that house was where the Dragon Duo planned to stay after they married and might even have been Shiki's wedding gift to her.

" _Mama…"_ Manaphy looked distraught at his mother suffering. He hopped off Ash's arms and bolted to Pakura. _"Mama!"_ Manaphy called out to her, and she looked up to him. Manaphy jumped into her arms, and she was only too happy to catch him and pet him absent-mindedly.

" _Embrace your dark power and kill Manaphy."_ A voice that sounded vaguely familiar whispered to her. Pakura widened her eyes and looked down at Manaphy, who was smiling at her treatment, unaware of the thought that had crossed her mind.

'Who said that?' Pakura thought, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. 'No way, I don't kill children or Pokémon.'

Ash smiled at the scene, before turning to Pikachu, Lucario, Sylveon and Skitty. Lucario asked, **"How's your relationship going with her?"**

Ash assumed a thoughtful position, as he thought back on what happened behind closed doors.

" _Do you want Jude to get punished anymore?" Ash asked, somewhat bored as he ran a hand over his hair._

 _Pakura shook her head, clutching to her shirt, trying not to stare at Ash's topless form._

" _Then you know what I want." Ash indicated that they were now alone by looking around the room._

 _Pakura gulped, as she slowly approached Ash, stripping off her clothing one by one. By the time she reached him, she was in nothing but her underwear. She dared not cover her breasts for fear Ash would punish someone else…again._

 _She hooked one smooth leg over Ash's waist and then the other, effectively straddling him. Ash, pleased with her performance, pulled her into a French kiss, and letting his hands drift down below her neck._

Ash nodded. "Pretty well."

" **That's great!"** Pikachu looked happy, an Espeon with a cold look on his face came up to them, making Ash realize that it was Pakura's Espeon and the very same one Shiki had owned. Pakura's Espeon narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but did not say anything.

" **Are you sure it's wise to leave the other three members while we go to Kanto?"** Skitty asked.

"I trust that the others are capable enough to fulfil the duties when needed." Ash replied, as Pakura came out of the kitchen with Manaphy. She silently handed Manaphy to Ash, before going to retrieve a change of clothes. Sylveon and Espeon silently followed her as she went to Ash's room to change.

* * *

Both of them barely had time to change into royal wear, before the staff came to escort them to the dining room for dinner, where Queen Ilene was waiting for them. Pakura tugged uncomfortably at her red, floor-length Armani Sheath dress and matching heels as they made their way to the dining room.

"Queen Ilene, presenting Rota's Crown Prince Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum." The escort announced to the entire Cameran Palace staff when they entered. Queen Ilene, who was wearing a pink gown, stepped from the head of the table and walked over to Ash and Pakura.

"Queen Ilene." Ash bowed to her, kissing the back of her hand. "I trust you received my letter?"

"Of course." Queen Ilene replied. "Your region's mail services had always been efficient and excellent. It's a pleasure to meet you too, Princess Pakura."

"The pleasure is mine, Queen Ilene." Pakura curtseyed to Queen Ilene.

"You must be hungry from all the travelling. Please, do join us for dinner." Queen Ilene invited.

"Don't mind if we do." Ash nodded, as both of them took the two seats closest to Queen Ilene. As soon as they were seated, the dinner commenced.

"In the letter, you told me that you have made a decision as to who would be Rota's Crown Princess?" Queen Ilene made small talk with Ash as she started on her goulash.

"I have." Ash smiled, as Pakura quietly listened in. "I decided to make Princess Pakura Rota's Crown Princess. I can readily testify that she is more than capable enough to handle all her duties."

Pakura widened her eyes as she paused in the middle of her chicken and ham pie. By that sentence, she could tell he was planning on marrying her and perhaps even thought of having kids with her. Could he be planning this all along, for them to be bound for life? Why would Ash want to push through with marriage despite their relationship being on the brink and the fact that she was still struggling with her own mentality? Did Ash really want to spend the rest of his life with a broken person?

"Of course. I have met her plenty of times." Queen Ilene answered, turning to her. "I always thought you'd bring that blonde Champion to my castle as Crown Princess, but now when I realize you chose Princess Pakura, I thought there isn't any more wonderful news! Congratulations!" She clapped her hands together.

"Thank you, Queen Ilene." Ash grinned, as Pakura nodded. "Most people apparently got their wish. They kept talking about how much suited she was for me, and they were absolutely right. She is a wonderful person." He gave Pakura a fond smile.

"Oh yes. Imagine my surprise when she told me over tea that you were with her and she actually drew a sword against me when I requested she told me where she was hiding you, and stated she was willing to go against the Rota Kingdom and the entire Kanto Region just to keep you safe. I'm actually impressed with her bravery and skill." Queen Ilene giggled.

Pakura nodded at the compliment, as she was too busy eating to cover up the sight nervousness she was feeling.

"She did that?" Ash was impressed, as it was something new to him.

"She's definitely a keeper." Queen Ilene claimed, as they finished dinner and started to serve dessert. "I think she is perfect for the role of Crown Princess."

'I bet Rosaline is going to be even more envious of my perfect princess life, as she puts it.' Pakura thought, as she ate the Millionaire Shortbread. 'She obviously doesn't know what it actually means to be a princess.'

"Forgive me for asking Prince Ash, but what are your living arrangements in Kanto?" Queen Ilene enquired, as she started on her Deluxe Sundae.

"Paku and I are planning to stay at a hotel." Ash waved her off, looking up from his Chocolate Thickshake.

"Why don't both of you stay in a guest room for tonight? I have a few prepared for couples." Queen Ilene offered.

"Oh, gosh, that's so nice of you Queen Ilene, but I don't really want to trouble you further." Ash shook his head. "After all, I already did make a huge request through that letter."

"Don't worry about it." Queen Ilene waved him off. "I do want to hear stories on how you two got together over the meals tomorrow. After all, the event's in the evening."

"Alright then." Ash chuckled, as Pakura wondered what they were talking about. "Queen Ilene, did you know that Paku used to have a talent in designing dresses? She actually sketched some back when she was a kid."

Pakura froze. Did Ash go through her chest and find that sketchbook? She had drawn some back when she was a child, though she did not know why. Perhaps it was kind of a therapy to express her feelings when words failed her.

"I always knew she had a talented eye for clothes." Queen Ilene nodded. "Would I be able to take a look at the designs sometime?"

Ash had to nudge her with his foot before Pakura realized that Queen Ilene was talking to her. "Oh! Sure thing, Queen Ilene. Although I am not very good at drawing, so it's probably ugly."

"Don't listen to her." Ash grinned. "I've looked through it, it was glamorous to say the least."

Queen Ilene laughed. "Oh, Princess Pakura, you do look down on yourself too much."

'I do not. My inability to even maintain my relationship with Shiki and cheating on him like this, it's…' Pakura frowned.

"Prince Ash, perhaps you can fix her confidence with a little bit of love and bring out the best in her." Queen Ilene went on.

"I will." Ash smiled at Queen Ilene's confidence in him, as he finished his dessert. "That is the least I can do for all that she did for me to let me have a chance to make a name for myself without the fear that I'd get arrested on sight. Queen Ilene, if Paku and I were going to fit a walk together, we better go. How long do we have?"

"You should probably come back by midnight, to be safe." Queen Ilene replied, as Ash held onto Pakura's hand tightly. "Enjoy your walk, lovebirds!" She called out as both of them left the dining hall.

Both of them made their way to the forest located in the Rota Kingdom, enjoying the night breeze blowing at their hair. Ash thought the image of Pakura's hair flowing in the breeze made her even more beautiful, with the moonlight emphasizing her appearance. Pakura, however, was in deep thought of the conversation that happened during dinner.

Was she supposed to be happy that she was going to be made Rota's Crown Princess? Sure, most girls would love it when their boyfriend was the Crown Prince and decided to make them his Crown Princess. She bet Cynthia and those girls that Ash used to travel with would probably love to be a real princess. In fact, they most likely already thought they were one.

"What do you think?" Ash asked her as they reached the lake shimmering in the moonlight. Both of them saw Luvdiscs swimming near the surface of the lake.

"It's…appealing to the eyes." Pakura answered.

"True." Ash agreed. "But not as pretty as you."

Pakura sighed. If it wasn't for the situation, it could have been seen as romantic, like what everyone saw when they looked at them together. However, she knew there was a dark, twisted sadness between them, despite their image as the perfect couple. Just like how it became for her and Shiki, the ideal couple whom everyone expected to have married years ago, but still never went through with the wedding.

"Paku, there is no one else I would rather have for a Crown Princess." Ash went straight to the point. "When I told you I'd marry for love, it is true. I want to stay loyal to one person only, and that person is going to be you, my darling."

Pakura stayed silent at the confession.

"I love you more than anything in my entire life. You're mine. I'll do whatever it takes to prevent anyone from taking you from me. I cannot imagine living my life without you, Paku." Ash went on. "I admit, it was all my fault for not seeing your pain. I was blind not to see that you love me from the bottom of your heart, and didn't notice until it was almost too late. I want to make up for lost time and save you, Paku. I would not give up on helping you lose that Scarlet Anger, because I love you. I don't want to lose you." He sounded like he was about to cry, as two shiny Luvdiscs kissed each other.

"I promise, I will find a way to make sure you will be the first person to lose that Scarlet Anger." Ash whispered, as he offered her a blood red rose and an amethyst rose to match her current and former eye colors. Both of them were crystallized to preserve their beauty.

Pakura accepted the roses, stunned at the gift and confession. She could tell with her ability to sense emotions that what he said was all true.

"You rescued me in my darkest times, Paku." Ash whispered, as he hugged her. "You made my life worth living during those six years. You're my whole life. I don't know what I would do if I lose you."

'Just like Shiki did for me.' Pakura thought. 'Would our situation end up like how me and Shiki are currently?' She knew only time would tell. Pakura widened her eyes as they fell on purple eyes, who narrowed in anger as he watched them.

Later, Shiki walked over to the palace phone located at the living area. It's lucky Ash was currently ordering a room to be prepared for their Pokémon to sleep in. Although it was troublesome he had to dial nine to get a line outside the palace, he would have to do what he could to get Pakura help. He dialed one of the numbers that he memorized when channeled previously, and waited as the phone rang.

Phillip picked up on the very first ring. "Hello?" He said.

At that point, Shiki relinquished control back to Pakura, letting her take it from there.

"Phillip, it's me." Pakura whispered, though a little confused as to how she was standing there with a phone. Well, she won't look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Paku!" Phillip sounded concerned. "How was the investigation?"

"What investigation?" Pakura sounded puzzled. "We are in the Rota Kingdom. He apparently chose me as Rota's Crown Princess."

"So, the investigation was a cover story?" Phillip asked her.

"Yeah, it's likely to prevent Cynthia and the girls from finding out." Pakura whispered. "I mean, those girls were planning on offering him freedom in exchange for marrying one of them so they can become Crown Princess. But really, being Princess loses most of its glamour once you actually become one. I need to get out of this marriage somehow. I'm not really…ready."

"Look, I'll talk to Akeno and Jude about this, alright?" Phillip assured her. "I'm sure we'll come out with some-" However, Pakura heard the dial tone, and turned to see Ash had pressed the telephone hook. He sighed, as he took the receiver and placed it back.

"Looks like I have to resort to drastic measures." Ash closed his eyes, as he teleported Pakura back to their room. The last thing she saw before she teleported was him placing a rune he summoned on the floor and she swore she heard him say, "You said if I want something, I have to do whatever it takes to get it. Well, I'm doing whatever it takes to win you back. And no one can stop me."

Pakura sighed, changing into the T-Shirt that Ash had laid out for her, as she did not want her members to be punished even more than they probably are right now. She realized that the shirt must be Ash's, for it was too large to be hers and it fell just over her panties.

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and Pakura put up an illusion over her underwear before opening the door. An attendant was standing there with a tray containing two cups of hot cocoa for her and Ash.

"Prince Ash personally prepared this cup for you." The attendant said, handing her one of the cups. Pakura nodded, as she received the cup with thanks. The attendant set the tray on the bedside, and left.

Pakura sat on the bed and sipped the hot cocoa, wondering if she should tell Ash about the fact that she might have channeled someone else as she didn't really remember actually dialing Phillip for help. Could her Scarlet Anger be taking over her even as she sat there enjoying the hot cocoa?

However, after finishing the cocoa, she found herself feeling very sleepy. Was it from the events of the entire day, or from something else? She had no time to register this when Ash returned to the room through a rune, and picked up some papers. She vaguely heard him tell her to sign some sign some documents as it was an emergency.

All she wanted right now was to sleep, so she did without trying to make her eyes focus more than was necessary to find the dotted line. As soon as she signed, she dropped her head on the pillow, and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Ash watched her sleeping on their bed wearing nothing more than one of his shirts and a pair of panties. He stifled a groan, licking his lips as he stared at the sleeping angel in front of him, oblivious of her fate. He approached her and tucked a strand of her behind her ear.

He leant in to steal a kiss on the lips.

* * *

Pakura squeezed her eyelids before opening them, automatically shielding her eyes from the sunlight. There was something warm on her bare waist and realized Ash had draped his arm over it.

She looked down at her body, realizing her breasts were out in the open, and her panties were removed. She could tell that the bedsheet around the area between her legs were stained. Though she didn't feel sore and there is an absence of semen, she still had a vague flashback that she had woken up naked and lying on the bed next to Shiki, back when she was crowned the Dragon Princess. She widened her eyes as more of that memory played out.

"It was an accident…it was an accident…it was an accident." Pakura kept repeating it to herself like a mantra as she tugged the bottom of the shirt to her thighs and retrieved her panties with her telekinesis. She saw many papers and books lying on the desk, and went to take one. She gasped, as she retrieved a memory from the book itself.

" _ **It's really getting late, Ash."**_ _Pikachu said, concerned for his trainer._ _ **"You can find time to do this tomorrow."**_

" _No, Pikachu." Ash rebuffed his Pokémon. "Who knows how long this would take? I need to know all about Scarlet Anger, so I can find a way to save her. There must be a way, I am sure of it."_

" _ **Are you really going to use the part of the Scarlet Anger you absorbed to read those slabs that the doctor mentioned?"**_ _Lucario enquired, as Ash accessed his tablet to take a look at the slabs._

" _Lucario, if I have to sacrifice a few years of my life to save her, then I'll gladly do so." Ash answered, as his eyes turned red, and he started reading the slabs and translating them to English. "I am not going to make her use her Scarlet Anger to read those because who knows how much life force that would take. It could kill her."_

" _ **I hesitate to ask, but you are aware of the location and the time where the Maga Chest is hidden, right?"**_ _Pikachu asked quietly._

" _Yes."_ _Ash nodded._

" _ **Have you thought about going after it? Try to bring it back to our region?"**_ _Lucario added._

 _Ash sighed, as he said, "Paku's well-being comes first. It's clear she is the key to finding and opening the chest itself. Her Scarlet Anger is definitely our ace in the hole for the chest's retrieval, but there are…beings who are aware of the existence of that Maga Chest."_

" _ **Also, the power of the Mágia or ÄRMs they call it and all other items inside that chest likely emit great power."**_ _Lucario realized._

" _That's right. They would likely go after it themselves, especially the one that did a number on Paku years ago. The moment we go there, he will be alerted since he is likely familiar with her aura. I will allow her to take as much time as she needs to recover from her trauma because this is our number one priority." Ash announced._

Pakura clutched to the book, looking somewhat dejected. She did not notice Ash was awake until he hugged her from behind.

"Morning." Ash greeted her, taking her into his arms and started kissing her. Pakura felt his body press up against hers and his tongue in her mouth, assuring her safety…or was it danger?

The romance image they had played up for the past few days would likely to be revisited and perhaps the regional news would broadcast known details to the public. Everyone would want to know what was going on between the two people they thought would be perfect together.

The full impact of the implication hit her when they were eating breakfast. This was because Queen Ilene told her that since Ash had presented evidence that they were husband and wife via a signed marriage contract, the coronation ceremony for Ash to officially claim his title as Crown Prince could occur tonight like they had planned.

Pakura gasped as she remembered the paper she sleepily signed. It must have been a marriage contract and knowing Ash, he must have submitted it to the Hunter's Association to validate. 'I married him without even noticing. Well played, Ash.' Pakura thought, not sure whether to inwardly laugh or cry. 'Then again, I expect nothing less since I was the one who taught him all my tricks.'

Furthermore, a crate of wedding dresses had arrived with a note from Aquamarine that Ash had approved these himself and that she was told by Queen Ilene that she would be trying on those dresses when she was done with breakfast as part of the preparations for her official wedding ceremony.

Pakura looked at her new husband. He looked really happy about the marriage, the same genuine smile she wanted to see all those years ago back when they were travelling. The very same smile she wished was directed to her when Ash talked about Cynthia. Could that have been only a few years ago since she wished Ash would reciprocate her love? It felt like a lifetime ago, a dream that she never woke up from.

She hated the fact that she still had a shred of love for Ash, confirmed when he had confessed to her last night. She turned the roses he had given to her in her hands and touched her couple's bracelet.

Pakura bit her lip as she realized if she ever wanted to prevent her Elite members from getting into trouble and see that smile on Ash, she would have to stay married to Ash. If it wasn't for the circumstances that led to it, she could almost imagine it as a fairytale dream come true. Almost.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ash extend his hand. She looked at him, keeping the uneasiness from her eyes. "Come on. Let's take a look at the wedding gowns."

Pakura took his hand, prepared for the life that her new marriage would provide.

* * *

"What?" Cynthia was shocked at what Princess Salvia told her, as she looked at her regional Champion, puzzled as to what was so surprising about the news. "Is this true?"

"Yes, I received an invitation from Queen Ilene to attend the coronation for Crown Prince Ash in the Rota Kingdom. Queen Ilene stated he already made his choice for Crown Princess." Princess Salvia nodded. "Apparently, Prince Red and Princess Pakura already went over to Kanto to attend the coronation yesterday."

"I heard from Lance they both of them went to Kanto to investigate the murder case." Cynthia was somewhat offended, both at being lied to and Ash already choosing his own bride, which threw their own plans off course. "So, it was a cover story?"

Princess Salvia shrugged. "Well, that is what I heard too, but it's possible the other members simply omitted that part out, or they were not aware of it themselves."

"Can Champions attend?" Cynthia frowned.

Princess Salvia shook her head. "It's closed to everyone but royals and invited guests. However, royals are allowed to bring their own personal attendants."

"Please, Princess Salvia. I need to check out this event. I really need to question Ash about his mother's death and find out the truth." Cynthia pleaded.

Princess Salvia sighed, but nodded. "Alright, I will tell the others that you are my personal attendant. However, you would need to dress the part and make sure no one recognizes you."

Cynthia nodded, as she sent a message to the boys through her Pokégear that she would not be able to go on with the plan of meeting Akeno as she had to head to Kanto for some important business.

She had to admit, she's a little curious about how Ash looks after six years on the run and who he had chosen for his bride. The hate she felt at the thought of the bride becoming Crown Princess was so real that it almost choked her. Why did it take for the news of Ash making the decision of who would be Rota's Crown Princess for her to realize she still loved him?

'Ash, you and I definitely have a lot to talk about once we meet.' Cynthia thought.

 **BP: I know, it's a really twisted relationship those two have in this chapter, but the measures Ash took was actually taught to him by Pakura, so you can say Pakura was Hoisted by Her Own Petard and it's her Laser-Guided Karma.**

 **While both of them love each other, the events damaged them, Pakura more than Ash. In this case, Pakura felt that Ash didn't really love her and was only trying to repay her for what she did for him and that he was only lying to himself while Ash is desperate to save her from Scarlet Anger since he is aware of how much time she had left to live and the usage of Scarlet Anger may shorten it even more to the point that she may die the next time she uses it and he doesn't want to lose her as he felt that she was all he have at the moment and he loved her.**

 **If you are wondering, yes, she is currently inactive in terms of her own duties as Elite and Princess since she is still struggling with her own mental illnesses and 'Shiki' being 'distant' with her and her own traumatic experiences that she may or may not remember due to Scarlet Anger. Furthermore, she was also questioning herself as to what she wanted and Ash's objective of having her in confinement. Now, to explain why Pakura was forced to give him sexual favors, such as giving him a nice view of her body and a hands-on experience. Ash suspected that Shiki, her fiancé, actually had his hands on her before (he's actually right) and wanted to so-called erase those marks and make his own on her, to make himself feel that she was his. Not that she hated Ash's treatment towards her, since she loves guys who dominate her like that. So technically, it's consensual.**

 **If you are wondering what Ash did to her after she signed that contract, let me put it this way: He had breakfast in bed at night. I might write a scene on that once I am more experienced in writing lemons. Perhaps I might learn a thing or two from Core AI once we get to writing the collab fic together.**

 **Unlike him, I simply can write out sexual situations rather than writing an actual lemon like I did in this chapter. I did write sex scene based on Chapter 14 of the PAL Chronicles, but never posted it because my classmates would never let me hear the end of it. It was so problematic with them I actually deleted one of the yaoi fics that contained lemon, and they still brought it up YEARS after that.**

 **The thing about them is, they like to keep talking about the past and like to poke their noses in my personal life. If you'd like to know more details of what happened, you can always ask *shrug* Thanks to them, I didn't even want to try to write lemon for a long while. Not that I am good at it, but still…**

 **I know, most of you won't be happy about this development of their relationship, but remember who Ash was with for the past six years and the tragic events that had shaped him to be who he is. Not to mention the way Pakura raised him, which is very unlike the way Shiki raised her all those years ago. As for Pakura, she is prepared for the consequences of her actions and she did love Ash, hence he isn't really an Unwanted Spouse. Well…since Ash's priority is Pakura, I don't think they would be addressing the issues relating to their powers or the Maga Chest until she is convinced to at least try to move on.**

 **I know, at some points in the story I have no idea what I was writing either, so it's as bad as you can expect.**

 **Oh, one more thing: Do check out Core AI's latest poll. We were debating on whose battle style we should use for the story we are going to write together, and decided to leave it up to the readers.**

 **Anyway, do favorite, follow and review!**


	16. The New Crown Prince and Princess

**BP: I know, I haven't updated this in a very long time, but I decided to break a little before I start again. My apologies but I have been dealing with some stuff like my graduation and all. I had to see those people again and I had hoped I didn't have to interact with them or anything. It took a lot just to pull myself together and go to the event. I mean, I secretly despised them for the things they said and did to me.**

 **I guess Lady Luck was smiling at me since I turned out to be sitting in a totally different Lecture Theater from them and actually sat two rows above them and all the way at the other side too! Thank goodness, I don't have to keep in contact with them anymore after that day. I certainly won't be too sorry. Anyway, the problem with the Microsoft Word has been resolved and thank for your suggestions. I'll be sure to keep those in mind when anything else happens so I can keep updating.**

 **Furthermore, I had started working as a childcare teacher myself and the toddlers are driving me insane along with the sudden amount of work I have to do. I have never gotten as many injuries/bruises as I did and something tells me it's only the tip of the iceberg.**

 **Furthermore, the environment makes it easy for toddlers to run out. There was also this door with a gate leading outside and a latch that children can easily reach for and open the gate. Hence, if one kid runs out of the classroom, I cannot risk leaving the other kids alone to get the one kid as another kid may open the gate and leave the childcare, and I would get in huge trouble.**

 **So, is there a wonder why I leave the one kid alone first? I mean I can ask the next-door teacher to help look after but she had thirteen children and her own activities to do, so it's unfair for her to watch her kids as well as mine. This job is the main reason why I have not been updating as well and I am very sorry about that. I have been driven insane (literally) from the toddlers and the workload they dumped on me and I had a lot of dark thoughts. Especially contemplating to let the kids get injured from their own stupid bravery instead of saving them all the time.**

 **I resigned from that job recently and got another one at a church kindergarten and also got some part time job from a tuition center I went as a kid. Sounds perfect on paper since I can be kindergarten teacher during the day and homework marker in the evening and those jobs would never clash. Hopefully it would work out in my favour this time and I won't get too stressed or anything.**

 **A lot of things happened, especially since recently my friend actually ended up making me cry for hours (I know, I'm sensitive) because he hurt me with some harsh words, putting me out of commission (emotionally) for a while and I couldn't really find the drive to write during that time.**

 **Please forgive me for my late update and forgive me if this chapter's scenes seemed insane or something because I'm already on the edge and writing is the only way I vent it…without hurting others. Also, I had to write this chapter all over again, and I would explain at my end notes. So no, I haven't forgotten about my stories and by hook or by crook, I will finish the PAL Chronicles and the Dark Chronicles.**

 **Warning: Sexual themes ahead.**

"I don't think I can do this…" Pakura said to Ash, watching the attendants hang up all the wedding dresses she was set to try on. "The whole of Rota Kingdom would be looking at the results of the photo shoot!"

Pakura wasn't too happy to hear the fact that when the people of Rota heard about the upcoming wedding, they became eager to organize an event to vote for the best-looking wedding dress. Rumour had already spread that the one with the most votes would be the one she would wear to her wedding. Much to her chagrin, the voting had started yesterday, though she did not see how they could vote when she hadn't even tried on anything relating to weddings yet.

"Relax, it'll be fine. You'll look ravishing in any dress." Ash replied soothingly. "After all, the votes would be confidential and you still can choose your wedding gown. The dress you choose would be announced to be the one with the most votes. Now, our priority is to find the perfect dress for you on the special day."

When they entered, the room was already set up, cleared and lit for the bridal photo shoot. One of the attendants in charge of the schedule had a fine time ordering everyone around, keeping them all on schedule. It was a good thing too, since they had to finish the photo shoot before lunch and there were at least two dozen gowns that Aquamarine specifically designed for her and each of them required their own headpiece, shoes, jewellery, hairstyle, makeup, setting, and lighting.

Almost every gown had a fairy-tale theme about it, and Pakura suspected Ash told Aquamarine about her dream of having that kind of wedding and happily ever after and probably suggested that it fitted her as a Fairy-type specialist. However, there were some others such as creamy lace and pink roses and a simple hairstyle consisting of some of the hair being plaited in two braids at the crown of her head and the rest flowing around her shoulders, ivory satin with gold eyeshadow and pearls, and even a sheath of diamonds and jewelled veil and moonlight. The moment one shot had been approved, they moved right into preparing for the next.

While Pakura was busy modelling the dresses and holding the poses that was instructed, Ash had managed to feed her bits of food and sips of tea as they worked on her, as he felt that she would pass out if she didn't take a minute to eat something. After all, she hadn't been eating very well for the past week.

By the time the shoot was over, Pakura was still starving and exhausted, though Ash assured her lunch was around the corner and she need to get changed. She shuffled into the bathroom to wash away the layers of makeup and conditioners and dyes before drying her hair by conjuring a fire in front of her as she brushed her hair down. She reluctantly changed into a lovely pink dress accented with a heart patterned fabric before Ash put his arm around her shoulder to lead her to lunch.

Lunch made her feel a bit better as they served pheasant with a selection of jewel-coloured jellies, steak and chips, meatloaf and mashed potatoes with parsley. For dessert, it was chocolate fondue with a selection of sweets and fruits to be dipped in along with a chocolate valentine cake coated with strawberry frosting and cream.

"She allowed me to use her Gym Badges to register for the Pokémon Conferences so I would not need to see them in their respective Gyms. After all, some of them are Gym Leaders themselves. It allowed me much more time to train up my Pokémon without the worry of collecting the Gym Badges again to register." Ash explained to Queen Ilene, as he ate his steak and chips.

"That is so sweet of her." Queen Ilene agreed. "I still emphasize that a Princess for your bride is just perfect. Especially all that you have been through together and the emotional support you two became for each other."

"I'm glad you approve of our marriage, Queen Ilene. I'll be sure to send you an invite once we decide on when we want to hold the marriage ceremony. After all, it's an occasion I would like to celebrate with my friends." Ash said politely. "I am sure Paku loved all the dresses that she had tried on."

Pakura started at the mention of her name, as she replied, "Aquamarine did a great job in designing the dresses. I look forward to seeing the bridal pictures so I can make my choice." She noted that Ash seemed overly happy about the photo shoot, and knew it was because it emphasizes on his claim on her the moment the marriage contract was submitted.

"I'm sure with beauty like that, she'd look wonderful in any dress." Queen Ilene remarked.

"I want her to make the choice of the wedding gown as this is her wedding too." Ash nodded towards Pakura, who was picking on the meatloaf, mashed potatoes and chips on her plate. "I want everyone to see her as the beautiful bride living out her fairy tale and getting her happily ever after on the day itself."

"Would you like me to arrange people to help out with the wedding plans?" Queen Ilene offered.

"It's alright, Queen Ilene." Pakura spoke up. "We don't really want to trouble you with the preparations for our wedding."

"Not at all, Princess Pakura." Queen Ilene turned to her, taking a slice of chocolate valentine cake for herself. "In fact, I'd love to help, seeing it's my two favourite people getting married. What is more, you two are taking the title of Crown Prince and Crown Princess of my kingdom. As Queen, it'd be rude if I do not help. Oh, I know I got to look my best the day the wedding is going to commence. I think I'll get myself a brand-new gown for the occasion."

"Very well, Queen Ilene. You can help out if you feel that it won't bother you." Ash smiled. Pakura refrained from remarking that it'd be entirely unlikely for anyone in Rota to remember what Queen Ilene had worn to various grand events, as Rota and to an extent Kanto, is hardly the fashion capital of the world. In fact, that title probably belonged to their region. Ash watched her, before ordering a second pot since Pakura started eating the stuff with a spoon.

Unknown to him, she usually did this whenever she was anxious as to what Ash had in store for her and it's not in a good way. "We are planning on having the ceremony as soon as the Pokémon World Championships end. Of course, due to the other events going on, we'll can't predict when it would end. We'll clear it with you before we set a date."

"That'll just give me more time to get my dress." Queen Ilene's excitement for the wedding was clear, despite the fact that she had the coronation ceremony to look forward to tonight.

"It's unfortunate, but we really can't wait to promise ourselves to each other during the wedding in front of witnesses." Pakura added, agreeing to Ash's statement.

"If I had my way, I'd put her somewhere where she can't get hurt." Ash told the queen.

"Hey, being a Hunter is a dangerous job." Pakura pointed out, as she poked a marshmallow with her spoon, not looking Ash in the eye. "In fact, I am thinking of taking up a job in the Crime Department once Rosaline leaves or something. I have always wanted to be a detective, creating criminal profiles and all."

"Won't that make you busier?" Ash gave a wry smile.

"It's fun. Also, I can always push the work to you." Pakura shrugged, eating another spoonful of chocolate fondue. Oh, the fun the two had together.

As Pakura swallowed the melted chocolate, she wondered what Ash did to the other three members when he transported himself there through his runes.

* * *

"So Ash has the ability to take away even spiritual powers too…" Akeno remarked, as the three of them were sitting together, having some Chamomile Tea and biscotti. In Phillip's case, he was having some ice cream sandwich as well to satisfy his sweet tooth.

Akeno dipped one in her tea, and munched thoughtfully, contemplating their situation. "It's a minor setback on our part."

"Minor?" Jude echoed, as Phillip looked up from eating his Freeze-Dried Ice Cream Sandwich.

"Of course. Just because we lack powers now, doesn't mean we can't carry out our plan to collect incriminating evidence successfully." Akeno shrugged. "Remember, we have a genius who can think of solutions for any situation and comes up with brilliant strategies. Also, we have our Pokémon and his trump card." She nodded towards Phillip.

"Oh right. I completely forgot." Phillip muttered. "A few days ago, I actually designed and uploaded something into the systems that allowed Pokégears to function. The virus program is designed in such a way it's undetectable from even Hacker Hunters. With that, I would likely be able to access any information from any Pokégear from my devices." He wondered how she even knew about it, and inwardly thought the spirits must have told her again. Just how many spirits are watching their conversation right now, anyway?

"We better act fast, since she had to meet up with them." Jude nodded.

Phillip nodded, as he took out his tablet and typed in a number code for the traitors' devices and looked through the files on his tablet. His eyes widened in surprise, followed by a smile. "Oh." He made a sound of pleasant surprise.

Akeno and Jude came over to his side. "What is it, Phillip?" Jude asked. Phillip smiled, as he accessed a document that contained the messages that the traitors sent to each other and to Cynthia. "It looks like Cynthia is going to be heading to Kanto. We're just have to make a slight alteration to the plan. This will be even easier than we thought."

"Wait, Kanto? Wasn't that where Ash and Pakura is?" Jude was shocked. "She's likely heading for the coronation ceremony. We have to warn them."

"But why would she decide to attend the event?" Akeno enquired, genuinely puzzled. "How would she even get there?"

As answer, Phillip crossed over to the section where they kept their newspapers, took one of the newspapers, and slapped down the article starting Ash's revelation of being heir to the throne of Rota on the table. "She likely decided to go there to see him, since she was still after him for the murder of his mother and also to find out who he had picked for the Crown Princess position. After all, I think Ash said something about the former female friends being after that position." Phillip explained. "Was going to offer him a chance to not be convicted in exchange of marrying one of them. Also, it isn't very difficult as because Cynthia can request Princess Salvia to take her there as an attendant or whatever, since she has an invite."

"How repulsive." Akeno's delicate features contorted as if she was choking. "Are they mad? Have they taken leave of their senses? First they killed his mother and now they try to force him to a loveless marriage? I think Ash would rather stay in jail than marry one of them. Why would he marry someone he doesn't love?"

"People marry for reasons other than love, I guess." Jude shrugged.

"Gold diggers like them, maybe." Akeno snorted. "Only marrying for wealth and property. They might as well sell themselves for marriage with the old people, who'll demand their suppers and beat them if they failed to produce it properly. But we marry for love, don't we?"

"Of course!" The two boys said in unison.

"That is if we fall in love." Jude went on, frowning when he thought of Elesa. Was she really the one for him?

"Alright, cease this talk of marriage already." Phillip looked amused, taking a big bite of the biscotti that he took from the plate, and washed it down with another swallow of Chamomile Tea. "We still have plans to make regarding them. I say we should let Akeno ask them the questions that would incriminate, since they are already charmed by her. A recording device would be hidden at one of the accessories she wears so that they would be none the wiser."

"But what if they ask for Manaphy?" Jude enquired.

"I think we should try and separate them first and pretend they have been attacked by strong wild Pokémon. That is where Akeno can 'rescue' them and we'll make it look like she has been attacked too, with a ripped dress or something." Phillip waved him off. "After asking them various questions while helping them recover, Akeno can offer them to look for Manaphy together if she claims that Manaphy had been taken in the process of being attacked." Phillip muttered, as he pointed to an outhouse they could use for the time being as a 'safe place' for their plan.

"Well, I guess you two only have to do one thing: Stay hidden." Akeno added. "But…I don't exactly want to sacrifice any of my clothes."

"Who said we'll be using yours?" Phillip said, unconcerned. "Rosaline has a variety of dresses in her closet. Her taste in fashion is similar to yours Akeno, so they won't question your outfit."

"Won't she be angry that we destroyed her clothes?" Jude asked.

"No, if one leaves the Elite, the clothes that he or she received during that time as an Elite member would have to be given up, since it's technically not theirs. Since she is kicked out, those are no longer hers, so as to speak. We can use it however we want, or Akeno can actually take them for herself." Phillip answered.

"I'd love to add some new cute clothes to my collection." Akeno nodded, taking out Rosaline's card key that she had swiped from her when she visited her in the hospital. "I can just take the ones I don't really like or already have and sacrifice that one."

"We should make preparations for the plan. Akeno, I'll come with you to select the dress and mess it up." Phillip said. "Jude, could you call up Pakura or Ash to warn them about Cynthia?"

"Sure." Jude shrugged, as he crossed over to the phone to dial Pakura's number, while the other two made their way to Rosaline's room.

"Please Ash, let me answer this call." Pakura pleaded, as Ash summoned her Pokégear when he was alerted that it was ringing. He stole a look at the screen and saw that it was the number for the phone located in their penthouse back at the fourteenth floor. He figured one of his other members probably called for some urgent matters.

"Fine." Ash said, connecting a cord to her Pokégear and putting the earpiece into his ear. He nodded for her to answer once he was ready.

"Hello?" Pakura greeted the caller.

"It's me, Paku." Jude sounded rather weary.

"What is the matter, Jude?" Pakura noted his tone of voice. "Did anything bad happen to you guys?"

"No, just called you to warn you about something." Jude replied. "You know, about your coronation tonight?"

Pakura made a noise of acknowledgement, signalling for Jude to go on.

"We received intel that Champion Cynthia found out about the coronation ceremony and Phillip thought she got Princess Salvia to let her in." Jude answered. "You two got to be careful, especially since she likely wanted to come since she wished to talk to Ash and not in a good way. After all, she didn't believe Ash when he said he didn't commit the crime of killing his mother and she knows of the girls' plan to snag Ash so they can become Crown Princess."

'I'm not looking for a harem.' Ash thought. 'I mean, I already have someone that is more beautiful and much better than all of them combined.'

"Would she try something?" Pakura asked.

"In my opinion, yes." Jude told her. "I remember Akira mentioning the aphrodisiac sample that one of the Poison Hunters made to affect the subconscious had been stolen. I am almost certain she stole it, but I'm not sure what she'd use it for, but I believe she might use it on Ash."

"Are you talking about the old school method where they try and get themselves pregnant and force the father to marry them or something and so they'd get the assets of the so-called 'rapist'?" Pakura enquired, having read about conniving women that actually practiced this method. Heck, there was a famously beautiful woman who had married like fifteen times, and each of her husband had died mysteriously, allowing her to live a life of luxury when she received all their assets as the wife.

"You can say that. Look, we better go now, we still have other plans we are about to commence. Also…" Pakura could hear him hesitate.

"Also?" Pakura prompted.

"Good luck for the ceremony." Jude said in a tense voice, probably thinking Ash was listening in as well, which was perfectly true.

"Thank you." Pakura whispered, and hung up. When she did, both of them looked at each other.

'Oh no.' Ash thought, remembering all too well on their last encounter. 'She's here…well not here exactly, but she's in this region and she's in the kingdom. If I'm not wrong, she's going to stay at some hotel with Princess Salvia, so we'll only see her when the coronation ceremony starts. It would really suck if she had accommodations at the castle.' He knew she'd ruin everything if she were to attend the ceremony. Well, not if he, and Pakura's abilities to cast illusions and make people hallucinate, had anything to say about it.

"We'll have to do some planning of our own, so it seems." Ash remarked, as he wrapped an arm around her waist.

"What do you have in mind?" Pakura sounded a little curious.

Unknown to the two of them, Cynthia had plans of her own. The question would be whose plans would prevail?

* * *

Cynthia was munching on a tuna onigiri ordered from Room Service at a hotel in the Rota Kingdom as she went over her plan, while Princess Salvia was reading a magazine on wedding gowns that was in this season.

While it was true that she would be going as an attendant, it didn't mean she couldn't dress up and get near Ash, especially if she were to serve drinks to them. After all, she was sure no one would be able to resist her once she was through with

Perhaps she could serve one to Ash that was laced with the drug that she had snagged while she was visiting the girls in the hospital during the chaos of the dance so no one would notice. She did not know how the drug worked, but from what she had heard from the doctor, the drug supposedly can affect even aura users and it targets the subconscious.

From what her Lucario told her, Cynthia guessed that Ash might have trained himself in the art of aura. She made a bet that Ash won't be able to recognize her aura signature or whatever as he had not seen her in six years and she would recognize him once they introduce him to the public.

Cynthia did not know who he chose as his Crown Princess, but she speculated that it probably is some country girl who would fill her days with craft projects and spent her time at home scrapbooking instead of reading the news, and was not aware about the murder of Ash's mother. After all, Ash would likely never go for someone who knew about the murder so he could stay hidden, that much she knew. She thought Ash was wasting his time with this mysterious bride, as she probably won't like her based on that fact alone.

If she were him, she'd choose a stylish girl with a reputation and the other girls fit the description perfectly.

'How do I get rid of the Crown Princess he chose and get him to choose one of the girls, though?' Cynthia thought, as she washed her hands. 'They deserved it at the very least after all they have been through with him and his sudden betrayal to them…'

"What are you thinking, Champion Cynthia?" Princess Salvia asked.

"Nothing much, Princess Salvia." Cynthia answered. "When's the appointment for doing our nails?"

"In half an hour." Princess Salvia answered. "After that, we'll be having our pores unclogged by heat-action mud masks and then my hairdresser would come over to do our coiffures. I'm going to pull out all the stops for this coronation. You do have your dress prepared, right?"

Cynthia nodded, as she showed off her gown. It was an exquisite and stylish black dress accented with silver embroidery that formed vines and various flowers. Real gold acted as the center of some of the flowers and real pear-shaped diamonds acted as dew drops. The dress was designed in such a way that a man could appreciate the way the dress showed off her assets perfectly and it had a silt up the side.

With her natural beauty that garnered her many admirers and being able to make sure her makeup is perfect, she was sure she could pull the look off and stand out in the coronation ceremony even if she was going as an attendant. With all these factors combined, she was sure the chosen Crown Princess would pale in comparison to her.

"This must be expensive." Princess Salvia was admiring the gown.

"It is." Cynthia confirmed sheepishly. 'But it didn't really make a dent in my back account, considering my status.' she thought. She wondered what the look on Ash's face would be once he saw her in that gown, realizing the chance he had thrown away six years ago. Perhaps even Champion Red would ask her for a dance when he saw her and ditch his self-proclaimed wife.

Pakura paused halfway while pressing a blue evening primrose into her scrapbook and glued a piece of fabric onto the page. The good thing was, she now had some time to press those flowers as they were required to make the dye and subsequently, the colourful fabric that Aquamarine uses for some of her clothing.

It was great to do something relaxing for a change and she could see why scrapbooking is a popular hobby, and there are whole stores devoted to it in PAL. At least she would have this to do in the rare event when she doesn't have anything to do and it helped her depression a little.

For some reason however, she had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

"Something wrong, Paku?" Ash noticed her pause.

"I think Cynthia has a plan she may enact during this coronation." Pakura answered, putting more pressure onto her scrapbook so that the blue evening primrose gets pressed onto the pages. The idea that she might do something only worsened her mood, as she was then reminded that she wasn't in Kanto to model beautiful wedding gowns and eat delicacies, but to go through with the ceremony and openly portray herself as being in love with her husband while the crowds encourage their relationship.

"Are you worried?" Ash frowned, and Pakura nodded.

"If anything, she should be worried about you." Ash smiled. "After all, you started out with a rough childhood and survived what most of us can't. And now, look at you."

Pakura looked down at herself. She was currently wearing a dress that consisted of a red sparkly top and a pink horizontally striped skirt, though the shades are only very slightly different so no one could really tell unless they look very carefully, along with a black vest. She had chosen this outfit as it would be easy to slip off and change during prep yet look fashionable at the same time.

"Not what you have on, though I must say it looks great." Ash laughed. "Your social standing. I mean, everyone loves you now."

"Big deal." Pakura replied. "You achieved the title of Champion and Prince and just knocked me off my pedestal. She was flipping out when it seemed that I made her look bad in front of you."

"She's making herself look bad in front of her." Ash shook his head, putting a hand on her cheek. "Look, your psychic powers would be pivotal to our plan. It shouldn't be able to fail, considering your mastery of them…" Before she could say another word, Ash put her mouth over hers, sticking his tongue in her slightly open mouth.

Pakura closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Both of them tasted of misery and longing, a surprising flavour for such a loving kiss. His touch, his heat…it reminded Pakura that she was still alive, still fighting.

"I'm not sure if I can use my psychic abilities to full power." Pakura mumbled, as Ash broke the kiss.

"Paku…do you really think I would let Cynthia do anything to you?" Ash asked softly. "I'm got your back, Paku. I'm not leaving you and I'm staying right here, by your side." He clasped his hand over Pakura's couple bracelet on her wrist.

Pakura desperately clung to him, holding on to one of the few parts that made up the good things in her life that Fate has somehow failed to destroy or take. Or did he even make up that part anymore?

Ash buried his face in her silky hair, smelling the scent of lavender on it. The scent somehow filled him with a deep inner calm unlike anything he ever known.

Actually, it's sort of like how his mother used to sing lullabies to him before he went to sleep as a child.

Either way, by hook or by crook, he will make sure nothing's going to happen to Pakura tonight. He frowned as he wondered what the others were planning back in PAL.

'Well, as long as they don't do anything that would put them on the news, they'll be fine.' Ash thought.

A knock on the door sounded, and an attendant requested to borrow Pakura so that they can start preparing her for the coronation ceremony. Ash nodded his assent, as Pakura left the room.

'I should get ready before my prep team arrives.' Ash thought, knowing though they had less tasks to do, they still had to make sure he looks the very best.

* * *

Pakura stayed quiet as the prep team turned her peaches and cream skin into glowing satin, painting light purple hearts on her light pink nails, and working on her hair, where they put her front up with diamond hairclips and left the back hanging loose with some sort of flip.

In terms of makeup, they had lightly applied lavender eyeliner and made her lashes that throw off bits of light whenever she blinked. They also applied her entire body in a powder that made her shimmer in gold dust. As for her lips, they had applied some pink fruit flavoured lip gloss, which interested her as it was a Limited Edition Usuki Lip Gloss, which she was a fan of. All in all, it still preserved and made her natural beauty stand out.

Pakura cheered up when they gave her a brand-new lip gloss, stating princesses like her should look their best in front of the person they love. At the same time, Aquamarine entered with a garment bag that held her dress.

"What am I wearing tonight?" Pakura asked carefully.

"I hope you love it. I designed this to help portray you in a completely different light that is sure to make you stand out in the coronation ceremony." Aquamarine replied, as she unzipped the bag to reveal a strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline and a lace up back design that was decorated with diamonds at the top half, and at the bottom was a transparent over dress that revealed the pale pink silk under dress. The over dress was sewn on with medium sized diamonds at random parts which caught the glitter and light from all angles, though it was not in the trashy, Princess Barbie way. The gown was nipped in at the waist to show her sexy figure.

Despite the fact that it wasn't too girly overall, it still had a romantic theme to it that was befitting of the fact that the coronation happened because she married.

"I think it'd bring out the soft and formal side of you, while keeping the sexy." Aquamarine offered. "Everyone would accept you as Crown Princess with this, no problem. They'll side you in an instant."

Pakura knew this was a very calculated look, as nothing Aquamarine done was arbitrary. She wondered if Aquamarine designed this one Ash's orders. As she dressed in the outfit, she realized that there was something in the dress that was located just below her chest. It supported her large breasts, making her cleavage even more prominent that it already is.

"He'll certainly appreciate it…" was all Pakura could say when she looked at herself in the mirror.

Aquamarine chuckled, as she draped a light pink satin cape that was edged with white fur on Pakura. The fur was studded with gold filigree alternating with brilliant-cut pink diamonds. The cape was then held closed with a gold tiara brooch.

"You're ravishing." Aquamarine told her. "Also, you really need some new bras. Your current ones are too tight for you." She indicated her old bra draped over the chair.

"That's for 42E, you know." Pakura said dryly. "But I'll try and find time to get you to measure me correctly and see what's my current size."

"It looks like you're still developing in terms of chest size. It's a good thing, since your figure would look even sexier and more proportionate since your hips have also become somewhat bigger and your waist has a more distinct curve now. By the way, you can take it off to dance later after you've been crowned." Aquamarine indicated her cape.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with." Pakura muttered.

"Enjoy the party." Aquamarine gave her a hug for luck. "It's held for you after all."

"Alright." Pakura nodded, as she went out to meet Ash, who was already waiting for her outside.

Over his formal shirt, Ash was wearing a cream royal jacket that had metallic gold and red coloured epaulets with golden fringe on the shoulders with a matching gold belt. He also wore a white cravat on his neck and had donned on black pants and brown leather boots. Ash also wore opera gloves which covered all his fingers as part of the accessory. To complete his coronation outfit, he wore an elegant and dark floor-length royal cape which was wine red on the inside of the cape. The cape had a gold shield clasp to help prevent it from falling off his shoulders.

Ash gave her a great big hug, at least as big as it can get without their capes getting in the way and a kiss. "You look absolutely heavenly." Ash commented, taking in her coronation gown. "Our Pokémon would join us at the party. They are being groomed now."

Pakura nodded, as Ash asked, "Are you ready to watch our guests arrive?" From his tone, she got the hint as to watch out for Cynthia and look for the right time to use her psychic powers.

She nodded again, as Ash led her to a chamber where they can have a good view of the guests entering the castle and yet stay hidden with the curtains due to a rule they kept in their minds: If you can see them, they can see you. Although with Pakura's Invisibility ability which meant it may not really apply to her, they did not want to waste her aura on such a trivial 'mission'.

As they watched the first guests arrive, Ash wondered what his Elites are up to.

* * *

"This looks creepier by the minute." Max shivered, as they went deep into the forest as per the instructions written and the map drawn by Akeno from memory. "Are you sure we can trust the information she gave us?"

"It's the only lead we have." Trip replied. "Besides, she's a nice girl and I'm sure she's scared of the other Elites. Probably got browbeaten into joining them after seeing her skills or whatever."

"Also, she promised to get Manaphy to us. She knew how important Manaphy is to May. After all, May is her true mama." Brock answered with conviction. "And she's adorable and beautiful at the same time!" Hearts appeared in his eyes as he thought of the serene and innocent looking girl.

Cilan shot Brock a look of disgust, though he refrained from saying anything. If only Brock would just settle down with a woman that is both domestic and wouldn't be able to stand up to him…

"They're coming." A voice whispered from the trees.

Akeno nodded, and Phillip made use of the Ice Dust to create circles of ice around the travelling group, and Jude threw Fire Dust at the circles of ice, creating mist around the group, obscuring their visions. Phillip and the others put on goggles that allowed them to detect heat signatures and camouflaged stuff while the traitors let out their Pokémon to help, but the cloud is effective at screening their movements as their own Pokémon circled the traitors.

Phillip nodded to his Tapu Koko, who shot a Thunder in the air.

"Is it going to rain?" Max asked nervously. "Or was that a Pokémon?"

"Can't be. Akeno said there are no wild Pokémon in here." Cilan answered, looking around, but the mist made it hard for them to see.

'Nope, but there are our Pokémon.' Akeno thought, nodding for her Gengar to do its thing. Gengar floated nearby and absorbed the surrounding's warmth, making the group notice the temperature drop. All of them exchanged scared looks, as Jude slashed at them, causing their sleeves to be ripped and then disappeared quickly.

"D-D-Do you think it's the ghost of Ash's mum coming back to haunt us?" Max stammered.

"Spirits do know everything." Akeno whispered, using Phillip's device to change her voice into Delia's.

The boys wondered if they had watched too much _Supernatural_ and ate too much ice cream. However, Cilan spoke up for them before they could wonder if both had warped their minds.

"Wait, we only did that for Ash's own good!" Cilan cried out to 'Delia's spirit', trying to save himself and his friends. "Sure, he had his dreams, but we're tired of seeing him fail. What do you think the others would say if we had this foolish friend who kept failing his dreams? We'd be the world's laughing stock!"

Akeno stayed silent, as Phillip recorded it, looking grim.

"Jude, knock them out." Akeno ordered. "Perhaps their current fear of this surrounding would allow us to collect incriminating evidence faster. What a weak heart they have."

"Well, they are lucky we don't create something similar to Five Nights at Freddy's. We had to do that for our training stimulation, thanks to a certain genius." Jude grumbled, giving a grinning Phillip a look. "I'm sure Paku can make them hallucinate that easily."

"Please, I don't want them to soil themselves. I don't want to be in the same proximity when that happens, since I don't have any diapers." Akeno said, dusting her ripped outfit as Jude quietly snuck up from behind to knock them out with his trident.

"That's an idea, actually." Phillip laughed, as they heard some faint knocking sound. "Maybe when those two comes back from that coronation ceremony, we can get Paku to make them hallucinate those animatronics…and their jumpscares."

Akeno nodded, but had a thoughtful expression. "I wonder how those two would handle Cynthia though. She did get herself in through Princess Salvia. One is bad enough, but the two together are going to be a nightmare…"

* * *

When the boys swam back into coconsciousness, they found themselves lying on empty burlap sacks and what looked to be an old outhouse. There were sounds coming from a doorway that looked to be a makeshift living room.

"Come out." A voice said. "I have some food for you."

Akeno! The boys sat up and stumbled to the living room, where Akeno had laid out some bowls of broth and some rolls. She slipped spoons onto their hands and said, "Eat." in a kind voice. The boys noted she also looked worse for wear as her dress was ripped at the skirt portion.

"What happened to you guys?" Akeno asked them, as they began drinking the broth.

"We've been attacked by ghosts!" Max exclaimed. "She came back to haunt us!"

"Who?" Akeno looked genuinely puzzled.

"Ash's mother!" Max was hysterical. "She's here to avenge her death!"

"If you didn't do anything, then she won't haunt you, right?" Akeno tried to calm Max down, as the others ate quietly.

"That's just it. We did do something." Max confessed.

"What exactly did you do?" Akeno raised her eyebrow.

The others looked at one another, wondering if they should trust her. On the other hand, she had saved Max from arrest and offered to bring Manaphy here to them, and made it here as promised.

"We…kind of disposed of her, thinking Ash might be too depressed to continue his dream." Brock said haltingly. Akeno inwardly smiled as she knew it was being recorded by Phillip.

"Won't they normally arrest you for that?" Akeno feigned ignorance.

"Yes, only they suspected Ash as the murderer, since we used the Pokémon that he also owned." Trip explained smugly. "Even Cynthia didn't believe him and with the influence of the Champion…"

"Ah, how clever. You're using the connections you established while travelling with Ash to tip things in your favour. Not something that I never heard of." Akeno waved them off. "I promise I'll keep this a secret. I'll even help you out of here so that the spirits won't bother you anymore."

"That's so kind of you." Brock sounded love-struck, pausing on his broth. "But won't they get you instead?"

"You forget I'm a Ghost-type specialist. They won't bother me." Akeno assured him, inwardly feeling disgusted at his perverted tendencies.

"Where's Manaphy?" Cilan changed the subject.

At that point, Akeno covered her face, and sobbed. "I'm sorry guys, the other two members caught me and they took Manaphy away. I barely escaped from them and came here as fast as I could!" At her anguished tone, the others felt sympathy for her. It must be hard to even keep her promise to meet here when two others were secretly watching her, likely on the Leader and Champion's orders.

"Oh…I'm sorry." Trip looked genuinely sad for her.

"I'll be fine. They can't harm me as long as those two are away." Akeno gave a weak smile. "Where's Champion Cynthia? I was hoping to see her."

"She went to Kanto for the coronation ceremony." Trip told her. "She's going to give him a chance to allow us to let his crime slide, on the condition that he married one of the girls."

"Oh, why?" Akeno tilted her head. "I thought they hated him."

"True, but they wanted to marry a real prince so that they'll be a princess and be treated like one." Brock mentioned. "It'll boost their reputation as the wife of a Crown Prince."

"I thought girls like them marry for love…" Akeno looked puzzled, though on the inside she was seething. "I guess there are some who marry for wealth or properties too. So where are the girls?"

"They are in hospital." Max sobbed. "The horrible Champion must have used his powers on them."

"Or the Leader." Cilan pointed out dryly.

"She won't do anything to harm us! She's my future wife!" Max insisted, as the others became star-struck at the thought of her beauty.

"He has a thing for the Leader, unfortunately." Cilan whispered. "They are also rather enamoured with her looks."

"Can't blame them." Akeno shook her head. "Hey, how about I take you to the hospital to visit your friends? Sides, I think we all need a check-up."

"We'll take you up on your offer." Cilan smiled.

As Akeno let out her Pokémon to help support the traitors as they made their way to the hospital, Phillip whispered, "Got all evidence. Good job, Akeno."

'Being nice all the time isn't always a good thing.' Akeno thought. 'Especially with these guys.'

"Well, at least we can relax knowing we got out evidence. Who's up for some maltesers chocolate chiffon cake?" Jude asked. "I think Paku made some."

Akeno nodded excitedly, wanting to taste a confectionery made by Pakura. When Jude's Pokégear rang, he held up one finger as if to say, "Give me a moment." and answered the call. Akeno respectfully took a step back so Jude could have his call in private.

Unknown to them, Phillip had already taken most of the remaining cake for himself and sat at a table at the Internet Café working away at his own laptop. While it is true he could have had Free Wi-Fi at the Battle Tower, where else would he eat the cake Pakura made in peace without listening to Jude fume at the fact that most of the cake was eaten.

"Hello, Phillip." A voice said. Phillip looked up to see Diantha stand before him.

"This seat taken?" Diantha asked him.

"It's all yours." Phillip replied, before looking down at his laptop. Only for Diantha to stare at the cake he was eating.

"Where did you order this cake from?" Diantha asked Phillip.

"Paku made it." Phillip answered, but didn't elaborate.

"May I have a bite?" Diantha begged, being unable to resist chocolate confectionery.

"Er…sure." Phillip offered her another fork, only to have Diantha eat the bite of cake off his own fork.

"Hey!" Phillip was surprised at her bold move, but Diantha was already licking her lips.

"This is much better than any chocolate baked goods I have tasted!" Diantha complimented. "Is your Leader that good at cooking?"

Phillip nodded cautiously, and Diantha asked, "Do you think I could taste more of that cooking?"

"What do you want me to do? Get Pakura to make you a lunch box?" Phillip asked sarcastically.

"That's an idea. She could make lunch boxes for both of us and we can have a little picnic!" Diantha sounded excited at the idea. "After all, you did miss our meeting at the Coffee Cave, you can do something to make it up!"

Phillip gave her a look that clearly said that she's insane, but said, "I'll see what I can do."

Diantha gave him a bright smile and Phillip inwardly groaned. This is not going to end well for him.

* * *

" _You stole part of her powers, now part of yours has been stolen."_

Rosaline sat on the hospital bed, despair written all over her features. Everything she had worked for, everything she had planned, all her new-found popularity was gone just like that. She only took those Phoenix powers so that she can fuel her fire-based abilities to help her get her position and the region to an extent. Furthermore, she felt she could control those powers better than other hosts due to her affinity for fire.

Sure, the girl was placed in a comatose state as a result of her stealing the Phoenix powers by force, but at least she wasn't. She still could help the region.

Then along came Akeno, who outclassed her in the battle and took away her Elite position just like that. A position that she had worked so hard to earn for herself to show to her childhood bullies back home that she was the very best during New Year reunions. Thanks to Akeno, her place in the tournament is also void, which meant she was stuck in the Top 16. What would her folks back home say at this lowly rank in the Pokémon World Championships?

'Where have I gone wrong?' Rosaline thought, looking down at her hands. 'All I wanted was for people to acknowledge the fact that a freak like me can do much better than them. People kept thinking my psychic powers are strange. I couldn't go back to visit my family for fear someone else would do my job for me and I get fired. Surely they understand how important my job is.'

As she wallowed in self-pity, the door opened and Jude came in, carrying a lunch box with him. Rosaline smiled at him when he came in, though he did not really reciprocate. He closed the umbrella as it had been raining earlier that evening.

"Coming all this way to see me…you might get a stern talking to from Pakura if she finds out." Rosaline commented. "Is this for me?" She nodded towards the lunch box.

"You can say that." Jude replied, as Rosaline opened the lunch box. "Although it had been somewhat ruined in the rain. I tried to cook something up from her recipes."

"How lovely. Scrambled Eggs, arancini, steamed buns, mashed potatoes…and some chocolates, it looks like." Rosaline looked at the waterlogged food, though she inwardly regretted not eating something beforehand. "Well, let's see…"

Rosaline took a fork and took a bite of the food. She gave Jude a smile and said, "Mmm…delicious!" However, she thought Jude still had some areas of improvement when it comes to cooking when compared to Pakura.

"Once you recover, I advise you to leave this region." Jude got straight to the point.

"What? What about my career?" Rosaline was shocked, swallowing the bite of her dinner. "I had everything here."

"Not anymore. Take all your Pokémon and seek your career elsewhere." Jude told her. "The Hunter's Association called me earlier and told me that you can no longer work there anymore, though they allowed you to keep your Hunter status since you did actually earn them on your own skill."

Rosaline widened her black eyes, tears welling up in them. "No! They can't do this to me!"

"Actually yes, they can. Apparently, they have been investigating you since the article came out. They got a hold of our private training scores and you always fell behind us by a significant amount. Furthermore, everyone can see you are more concerned about your public image and your fame rather than your jobs or training. The fact that you lack empathy also did not help matters." Jude sounded disappointed. "They also recorded the last call you had with your sister as further evidence."

"Jude, I can't leave! Akeno told me someone stole my powers, and I want to find out who." Rosaline pleaded.

"The powers did not even belong to you in the first place." Jude looked at her in disapproval. "You ambushed a poor little girl, attacked her with more than one Pokémon when she doesn't even have any and made your Pokémon immobilize her when she's weakened and stole her powers by force, causing her to be in a comatose state. All for what? To show you are the best? All you are doing is taking credit from other people and making a name for yourself from their efforts and hard work. You are willing to sacrifice lives just to gain more power and prestige for yourself. All I can say is, once you're out of hospital, you have three hours to pack your stuff and get out of PAL."

Rosaline stayed silent, and spoke up, "Jude, may I make a last request before I am chased out of PAL?"

"What is it?" Jude sighed. It was a pity as he genuinely liked her cute image and she seemed to hold so much promise that would have help their region.

"I-I would like to spend one last night in Battle Tower before I leave once I'm out of hospital. Would that be possible?" Rosaline asked.

Jude saw no reason why her request would not be granted, but decided to bring it up to the other Hunters to see what they would say. After all, he was sure that she wanted to say goodbye to some of the acquaintances she made during the tournament. "I don't see why not, but I'll bring it up to the Hunter's Association for their opinion. If they have no objections, then I'll allow you that one night on our floor. Meanwhile, we three will stay at the Plaza Hotel for that night since Pakura owns a penthouse there."

"I see…" Rosaline looked disappointed that she'd be spending the night at the floor with no one but her Pokémon. "But what do you mean you three?"

"Pakura and Ash are in Kanto right now. Speaking of which…" Jude gave her a calculative look, and Rosaline gulped, knowing whatever Jude had in mind isn't going to bode well for her.

* * *

Akeno stood over Siebold, who apparently fell asleep on top of his blanket, exposing him to the coldness of the air conditioner in his hospital room. She reached out her free hand, seemingly to strangle him, but instead it was placed on his shoulder and the hand was shaking him gently.

"You're going to catch a cold sleeping like that." Akeno said softly. Siebold squeezed his eyes, before opening it. He blinked in confusion at the pretty girl who is wearing a pink V-necked long-sleeved shirt with laced cuffs and a simple white tube skirt standing over him, a knife on hand. He looked nervously at the knife, until Akeno took a slice of maltesers chocolate chiffon cake from his bedside table, revealing the purpose of the knife.

"Would you like a piece?" Akeno offered.

"Sure, thank you." Siebold replied. Akeno sliced a piece for him and placed it on a paper plate, handing him both the plate and a plastic fork. As she prepared some tea for him, Siebold took a bite of the cake. The moment he tasted he, he immediately wished he knew who baked this cake so that he could get the recipe and make it for his regional Elites and Gym Leaders.

As if she read his mind, Akeno said, "Pakura baked this cake herself. She has always been an excellent cook. Unfortunately, she's in Kanto right now, so you can only ask her about it when she gets back."

"Who are you? What's going on?" Siebold asked, as he was so focused on his recovery he did not follow the daily news.

"My name is Akeno. I am the new Elite member for this region." Akeno answered. "I challenged Rosaline for her position and won."

"Is Rosaline okay?" Siebold was concerned, knowing Rosaline herself landed in the hospital.

"She would be fine." Akeno confirmed.

"What's going to happen to her?" Siebold enquired, knowing that the PAL Elites would not take the article or the incident with him lying down.

"Rosaline would have to leave PAL as soon as she is discharged." Akeno said, sympathy written on her face. "We recently found out that she forcefully stole her powers to enhance her aura abilities, which caused the victim to be in a comatose state. Because of the circumstances and the nature of the power itself, we cannot overlook this. Personally, she should be grateful we did not choose to execute her. I am sorry Siebold, but you must stay out of this."

Siebold kept quiet as he ate the slice of cake, and sipped some tea to help him swallow. "I really liked her." He commented, disappointment in his voice after hearing what was going to happen to her and he could not do anything to help her.

"Everyone liked her cute and seemingly sweet image." Akeno agreed. "But it is apparently all a lie as everyone would think once the article came out and the footage played on national television. Or perhaps the stress of being one of us left her in a delusional state and caused her obsession over the Princess Orb, since I heard she believes herself to be the reincarnation of the Phoenix Princess."

"I see…" Siebold looked saddened, likely due to Rosaline turning out to be a fraud, at least to a degree.

"Take a good rest, Siebold." Akeno told him. "I'm really sorry about this loss. Who knows, the next person you take interest in can be someone who is genuinely nice." She gave Siebold a final smile and a wave, before leaving his hospital room.

As she left, she opened her parasol and walked down the hallway. A boy bumped into her as he was looking into his Pokégear, causing the parasol to fly out of her hands and her to fall on her butt.

"I'm sorry!" A voice said, as the person offered her a hand and her parasol back.

"It's quite alright." Akeno replied politely as she took back the parasol. The blue-haired boy blushed when he saw her full appearance.

"How rude of me to bump into a fair maiden like you. Can I make it up to you by treating you to lunch or whatever?" Falkner asked, inwardly regretting his own words as he was asking a girl he met just a few seconds ago out and how obvious he was being.

Akeno gave him a serene smile, knowing he was sincere. "Why not? We can go after watching the Top 16 matches."

"I…" Falkner was speechless as he did not expect Akeno to accept the invitation at all. "I'll make the plans and pick you up after the Top 16." He mumbled as he literally left the hallway as fast as he could.

Akeno watched him leave as she took out her light pink Pokégear that had some pink Pokémon tied to the phone strap and accessed a website that is logged in with her account.

She pressed a few buttons to cancel her registration to a lavish matching-making party that she had planned to go in hopes of finding a suitable date so that her matriarchal family would get off her back about her love life. Although she is depowered at the moment, she had a feeling that this is going to be interesting.

'Speaking of parties, I wish I could see how the coronation is going.' Akeno thought.

* * *

The choir sang as Ash and Pakura stood with their backs to the audience and in front of the Queen, who was about to crown them. A boy and girl dressed in white formal clothes were holding a sceptre and a crown and a tiara in their velvet pillows respectively. Queen Ilene took the crown from the pillow the boy was holding and placed it on Ash's bowed head, before doing the same to Pakura.

Both Ash and Pakura removed their gloves as they held the sceptre with one hand, Ash with his right and Pakura with her left. Pakura stole a glance at Cynthia to reinforce her illusionary abilities on her.

"Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this Rota Kingdom, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes that the Pokémon Parliament agreed on, and the laws and customs of the same?"

"I solemnly promise so to do." Ash and Pakura replied in unison.

"Will you to your power cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgements?" Queen Ilene enquired.

"I will." Ash and Pakura answered.

"Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the laws of Arceus, the true professions of the Legendaries and protect their homes as established by law, and will you preserve unto the Pokémon of this world, and to the organizations committed to their well-being and their rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain unto them, or any of them?" Queen Ilene directed the final question.

"All this I promise to do." Both of them said solemnly. "The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep: So help me Arceus." The moment they finished saying this, everyone stood up.

"May I present to you, Crown Prince Ashura and Crown Princess Pakura of Rota!" Queen Ilene announced.

"Crown Prince Ashura and Crown Princess Pakura of Rota!" Everyone repeated, as they clapped for the new Crown Prince and Crown Princess. Ash grabbed Pakura, dipped her body back and kissed her, and everyone cheered. Right after their kiss, a slow music started to play and everyone took it as a cue that the party has started and started dancing.

Everyone took this chance to go up to Ash and Pakura and said kind things like, "Congrats on your bonding!", "You look so beautiful/handsome." and "I hope to try your cooking sometime!" Pakura and Ash in turn thanked them for coming to their coronation.

Ash, however was watching Cynthia carefully, having spotted her dancing with one of the princes from Japan. He had to admit, she looked dazzling especially with that gorgeous gown but it was nothing compared to the one standing next to him at the very moment.

"Shall we dance, my princess?" Ash held out a hand to her. Pakura silent took his hand as he led her to the dance floor. Pakura made sure to reinforce her illusions on Cynthia as they walked past her to dance. She felt Cynthia's eyes on her as they passed but Cynthia did not approach them for a conversation, likely waiting for a time when Ash was alone.

The music changed to a fast one after a few minutes, where Pakura and Ash decided to take this chance to get something to eat as there were tables laden with delicacies near the walls.

"I really want to taste everything in the room." Ash looked around.

"I guess you better pace yourself." Pakura shrugged. "No more than one bite of each dish."

"Maybe we can feed our Pokémon too." Ash nodded to his dancing Pokémon. Pakura frowned when she saw Sylveon dancing wildly with Espeon, which greatly contrasts her elegant dancing style.

"Loosen up, Paku." Ash placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's the harm of letting them have fun?" With that, he proceeded to take a plate and started to fill it up with food. Pakura followed suit, though she was more picky on the food she put on her plate. Both of them sat on one of the couches laid out for guests to rest and talked about various topics. When a slow song came, they got up and danced once more.

As the song ended, four people wheeled out a five-tiered chocolate marble cake decorated with flowers and bows from a side room as the main dessert of the event. On top of the cake was a replica of a crown, only the crown was made out of chocolate and the jewels were made from jelly. Most of the guests backed up, making way for this dazzling creation with pink and white icing drawn into rainbow fireworks similar to an Appeal Pakura once performed and the effects of Ash's combined moves on an opposing Pokémon.

"I hope we would have a cake like this at our wedding." Ash commented, placing his hands on Pakura's shoulders from behind. "Why don't we get a slice for ourselves?"

Pakura nodded, as Ash took a knife and sliced the cake for the both of them. Ash marvelled at the taste of the cake, though he felt that Pakura would be able to make the cake herself if she put her mind to it, as she would not lose when it comes to the taste of desserts, particularly anything that contained chocolate as she would make her own chocolates.

"I've got to ask them for the recipe later." Pakura commented, as they stood at the side, watching the other dancing couples. "I say we should try more of the party food."

Ash smiled and acknowledged it as a good idea before both of them headed for the table.

Later, when Pakura left to get more mini burgers, tuna fishcakes and chocolate profiteroles, Ash felt a hand on his shoulder. "May I cut in, Ash?" A familiar voice said. Ash turned around to find Cynthia behind him.

"It's Crown Prince Ash to you." Ash reminded her icily, surprising Cynthia with his tone. "What are you doing in my coronation?"

"I really must speak with you." Cynthia answered. "I just wanted to ask you to reconsider your choice."

"What choice?" Ash pretended not to know, though anger was building inside him. He inwardly scoffed at the fact that Cynthia would think he'd give up Pakura for one of his former friends. It's like giving up a rare diamond for some commonplace stone.

"Your bride." Cynthia told him, adopting a pitying look and proving Ash right. "Surely one of your female friends would be a much better choice as they understand you more than your current bride? They would be more than happy to fill the role of Crown Princess. Even though it's not my region, I do want the best from Kanto, considering the…tragedy." Judging by the way she said tragedy, Ash knew that she still thought he did commit the crime.

"Yes, but I heard they have gained some expensive character. No one would be able to afford to date girls like them." Ash sounded disgusted.

"But they are your only chance of getting those charges on you dropped! All of them are willing to marry you just to save you." Cynthia argued, secretly placing her stolen drug into Ash's food as she said so. "I am also trying to help you, Ash. I don't want you to be sentenced for life."

It was at this moment that Pakura returned with her food and drinks for the both of them. The reason it had taken her so long was because she was stopped by various princes that asked her for a dance, only for her to coldly rebuff them each time.

"I think your friends can make you much happier. After all al of you shared so many good times together in your journey." Cynthia was telling Ash, not noticing who was approaching. "If you are worried about an attractive wife, they really grown up to be lovely young women. If you like, I can take you to meet them and you can-"

"I think he heard enough from you." An icy voice said, cutting Cynthia off.

Ash snatched the cup of punch out of Pakura's hand and gulped it down, trying to quell his anger. Pakura was staring at Cynthia with an impassive expression while Cynthia narrowed her eyes at the sight of Ash's bride.

"So…you're the one that stole Crown Prince Ash's heart." Cynthia kept up her amicable tone. "What is it that you think you have that they don't?"

"Le'ts see…all Ash's former friends do is stand around and talk about their lives that they frankly do not deserve after what they did to Ash. All they worry about is their looks, their popularity, their money, and getting someone who could boost their fame and supplement their income which they think they earned without even doing anything." Pakura retorted.

"You…" Cynthia was incensed that Pakura implied that the lovely girls were all gold diggers.

"I'll advise them to get sugar daddies if all they want is a meal ticket." Pakura smirked. "Although I don't think even sugar daddies would want to have them standing at their elbows."

Cynthia knew better to argue with the Crown Princess, as all she said was, "Consider my words, Ash. It's the only way to save you.", turned on her heel and walked off. However, Pakura knew she got to Cynthia as her fists were shaking and her back was somewhat rigid.

"What a pest. Thanks, Paku." Ash grinned.

"Sorry I was late. A prince tried to hit on me." Pakura said quietly, as both of them shared the food between each other.

"It's fine." Ash smiled, knowing that Pakura can handle herself well. They finished their food just as another slow music started playing. "Come on, let's go." However, instead of leading her to the dance floor, he led her away from the party, leading Pakura to be curious as to what he was about to do.

A lone figure in a beautiful gown panted as blood dripped from her thigh, leaving a trail as she walked down the hallway. However, due to the injury, she walked when doubled over and needed to hold the wall up for support, smearing the walls with her blood-soaked hand. Eventually, she faltered and collapsed on the floor.

Checking herself, Cynthia noted that the shooter managed to shoot through the part of her leg that was exposed by the silt up the side at that time as her gown was perfectly fine.

Cynthia brushed her bangs aside, looking fearful for her life as she heard footsteps behind her.

* * *

Pakura was in a semi-conscious state, where she was somewhat aware of her surroundings but yet she was too sleepy to react or counterattack. She was vaguely aware that she was lying on something soft and a thick blanket was covering her. Perhaps Ash took her to bed after he got her to drink something that was laced with his crystals so that she would have a good night's sleep like last time instead of being plagued with nightmares.

Pakura thought she saw Cynthia bound in a chair by some aura-infused ropes and Ash standing in front of her. From the sound of it, Ash was laughing hysterically in a somewhat nice way.

"Quit dreaming, Cynthia!" Ash glared at Cynthia, "Me, be together with you? Never in a billion years! Did you know what the drug you used on Ash does?" Pakura mused that he must be in his Champion Red persona and the illusion placed on Cynthia must have been undone but she was too sleepy to even step in and intervene. She faintly registered that her bare skin was touching the blanket, indicating she must be completely naked underneath.

When Cynthia stayed silent, Ash said, "No? Well, let me tell you. While this drug does only affects the subconscious, it can take over the person if the person doesn't have a strong enough will and they only get stronger in time unless an antidote is administered and eventually, it can consume even the strongest of wills like mine. The thing is, there is no antidote to it. That is why it is banned and since the components of the drug are used in some medicine and antidotes, that is why they are only in hospitals, in hopes of separating the components comprising the drug to be made into medicines and antidotes."

"I'm doing this for Ash's sake…" Cynthia started to speak, but Ash held his hand up.

"Yes, yes, drugging and then bringing him back to the girls was a good idea." Ash said sarcastically, as he walked towards her. "Did you even know it was a kind of aphrodisiac? No, of course not. All you knew is that it can affect an aura user. Even if you did know it's an aphrodisiac, what can you do from there? Get him to rape one of them so that they would get themselves pregnant and force him to marry them? How long do you think that drug would take to take effect? Well, news flash: Ash would never be with them even if they were the last females on this planet."

Pakura watched hazily as Ash pulled out a pair of pink fabric laced handcuffs from a bag. Ash took a hold of Pakura's left wrist, cuffing it to the nearest bedpole, as he climbed over to do the other wrist in the same fashion. Pakura mumbled something, not fully comprehending tonight's impending entertainment.

"What are these?" Pakura asked, barely able to find the energy to even speak.

"To keep you from getting away." Ash grinned, smashing his lips to Pakura's in a dominating manner. Pakura arched her back, and even when she was sleepy and disoriented, pushed back with an equal amount of hazy force. She easily complied when his tongue entered her mouth, allowing them to duel in a way they had done many times before.

Ash heard Cynthia trying to struggle out of her bonds and he automatically broke the kiss. He heard Pakura whine as he placed a finger on her lips. "Shh, my princess. We'll let Cynthia hear a good show soon. A show that would make her realize that she has no chance with me."

"Alright then, Cynthia." Ash said as he towered over her. "It'd be a bit of a problem if you reveal what happened to you as soon as you leave. So stay still, it'd be over soon…"

Ash used his psychic powers on her, and Cynthia shut her eyes in pain. "As one of my Chosen One powers, I have the ability to use any of my members aura abilities as my own temporarily, even those powers that are unique such as Scarlet Anger just by touching the original user. In this case, I can use Paku's ability to modify memories based on the five senses and prevent you from collecting memories temporarily through the said senses so that the modified memory can play out and match the time frame. All I need to do is to trim out your touch sensations in the memory to prevent people from knowing you were tied up and make it look like you were just frozen on the spot and that it was in a really dark room. While I'm at it, I can just make sure you just triggered one of our stray guns by accident when feeling your way around to explain your shot wound. Now..." Ash's eyes glowed, indicating he's using Mind Control on Cynthia, which was another one of Pakura's abilities.

Cynthia stayed hidden in a closet and Ash undid the bonds on her by snapping his fingers, knowing Cynthia won't be able to come out as long as his Mind Control is in effect to help complete his illusion. Ash panted as his pants felt tighter, knowing the drug Cynthia slipped him was starting to take effect. This made him turn his attention to the only person who he would willingly do it with: The one who was still lying on the bed.

"Mmm…Shiki…" Pakura mumbled. Ash paused when he heard her former fiancé's name come out from her lips. Ash felt envious towards Shiki for having her heart even in death and it was clear he was still strong in her thoughts despite her only having a shred of her sanity and emotions left. He sighed as he made a decision. Closing his eyes and concentrating, Shiki's appearance and voice replaced his own.

"Shh, I'm here." Ash whispered, reaching out a hand to touch her cheek. "It's alright, Paku."

"I want to go home, Shiki." Pakura said plaintively, like a small child.

"You will. I promise." Ash said quietly, as he bent over and gave her a kiss. Pakura desperately clung to him, and tugged at his clothes.

Pakura mewled in anticipation as Ash undid his coronation outfit, and soon, red and gold pieces were scattered over the floor.

Their hands were tangled in the other's hair, crying out, aching and sharpness…the pain was there but it didn't hurt.

Pakura moaned as teeth grazed a sensitive spot, there was twisting and a sudden flow of wetness, followed by something warm filling her up signalling completion. She felt her lover move again, wanting another round and gave in with a whimper.

Basking in the afterglow, Ash stroked the hair of his satisfied wife. He smiled as he noted that looking closer, Pakura looks younger and her face looks as fresh as a daisy when she's sleeping.

'My princess…See? It wasn't so bad, was it? I won't lose you again, Paku. You'll be mine forever. You don't need to be so reserved…I'll take good care of you. My beautiful princess…" Ash placed a kiss on the sleeping princess' lips as she stirred but did not struggle. Pakura needed lots of rest anyway and she did a good job in tricking Cynthia with her psychic powers.

Humming, Ash decided to give in to the temptation for another session with her while she's asleep and it was easier this time as she had been loosened up from the previous rounds. Ash noted that even when asleep, her unconscious reactions are just so sexy and submissive. Who knew she was so pliant when it comes to bed? After filling her up again, he covered her bare body with a blanket and showering. After his shower, he checked on Pakura, who was still sleeping.

'Beautiful…' Ash thought, before frowning as he heard muffled crying from the closet. 'Now I should knock Cynthia out and explain why she was unconscious?' He thought back on Pakura's secret stash, and nodded his head. He can force Cynthia to drink some of Pakura's liquor and perhaps decided to drink herself to oblivion after hearing him and Pakura make love. However, he'd need to add some more to her overwritten memories, which would not be a problem, since the original user is with him.

Ash approached the closet, intent on working on Cynthia's memories again and completing the illusion. With Mind Control, he was met with almost no resistance. After teleporting Cynthia and some empty liquor bottles as evidence to an empty guest room, he stripped off his bathrobe, climbed into bed with Pakura and promptly fell asleep after wrapping his arms around her.

* * *

The feeling of someone moving gently pulled Pakura towards consciousness. She fought to return to sleep though, as she was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets, safe and warm. She was vaguely aware that her head and lower half hurt, probably from the accumulated stress from the past few days. Someone's hand strokes her cheek and she doesn't push it away, as she craved that gentle touch. Arceus knows how little of those she had been receiving.

Pakura forced herself to open her eyes, only to find Ash smiling down at her. "Morning." He greeted. Much to Pakura's embarrassment, he was topless. Behind him she saw his array of clothes all over the floor. Timidly, she took a peek under the blanket.

"Ah…" Pakura's face turned red when she realized not only was Ash actually not wearing anything, she was completely undressed as well. A cool white substance had run down her legs and dried, leaving white dried trail marks on her legs. Most of the white substance was around her upper thighs leading to the part between her legs and there were some on her breasts as well. "Ash, we…"

Her memory on last night was hazy after the point where Ash shot Cynthia and gave her a drink to calm her nerves and to make sure she had no nightmares. Pakura gasped as she remembered Ash being drugged and her jumping on who she thought was Shiki.

'Did he do this on purpose?' Pakura thought, inwardly screaming when she realized she must have done it with Ash as she remembered he has the ability to disguise himself into anyone he wants. 'Why did he disguise himself as Shiki?' As if he read her mind, Ash's face turned into an expression of abject misery.

"You said Shiki's name. Even in your subconscious." Ash admitted quietly. When Pakura looked closer, it was clear he had been crying for a while.

"What'd you think?" Pakura enquired.

"Something selfish. I knew I'd never compete with him, no matter how much love and attention I shower you, no matter how much pain I'm in. I just wanted to let you have a peace of mind, even for just a moment that he was there for you." Ash replied. "Maybe I'll always be waiting for the moment you accept me even if we are married." Ash, whom she never really saw cry before except the early days she took him in and recently when he begged her to stay, had tears in his eyes.

To keep them from falling, Pakura reached forward and pressed her lips against his. Ash automatically had his hands in her hair and back, entering his tongue in her mouth and her tongue in his. Pakura noted he tasted of mint and chocolate, yet she could almost taste his misery.

As they pulled away, Pakura gave him a blank look. "I never stopped loving you, but you know why I can't give my whole heart to this relationship and commit myself to you."

Ash gave her a wry smile. "Like I said, you may think I should find happiness with someone else, but the only person I would ever want is you." He tweaked a sensitive area to emphasize his point, and Pakura involuntarily gave a small whine, enjoying his treatment.

"Do you believe I can find a way to save you, to free you?" Ash whispered as he hugged her.

After a long silence of consideration, Pakura finally whispered, "Yes." Their kiss this time silently communicated all the anger, the hate and the tears shed during their twisted relationship. But this time, they communicated one more thing. Hope. The hope that things would get better for them.

Ash pulled away, suddenly coughing blood. Pakura realized it must have been the side effects of him borrowing and using Scarlet Anger for himself the other night. Pakura immediately used her healing power on him to soothe his pain, though he still passed out.

'I guess we'll have to have breakfast in bed...and some aspirins.' Pakura thought, stroking his hair as his head landed on her bare lap. 'Maybe I'll make the breakfast myself as thanks for the wonderful night.' She blushed lightly when she saw the results of the lovemaking on her bare body. 'Although I better shower and dress so that I can make breakfast. After all, what kind of wife would I be if I leave him to his predicament?'

When Ash opened his eyes next, his wife was standing over him with a loaded breakfast tray consisting of a bowl of chocopops with some milk added into it, scrambled eggs, French toast loaded with maple syrup, sausage patties, hash browns and a banana. For drinks, Pakura provided a large cup of Ovaltine and glasses of orange juice. To complete this vision of perfection, Pakura was wearing a one off the shoulder dark blue dress that had a silver belt in the middle with the stars pattern on the hem of the dress which reached halfway through her thighs, so Ash still had a good look at her legs.

Ash smiled as he knew Pakura is trying to make an effort to take care of him just like she had all those years ago and was appreciative that she'd let him have a beautiful view besides a great breakfast. Before Ash could say anything, Pakura set the tray down and got Ash to sit up after propping his pillows up.

"The Scarlet Anger depleted quite a bit of your aura. Try not to use any of your abilities until you feel better." Pakura commented as she checked his vitality signs with her ability.

"Better me than you, Paku." Ash shrugged. "But I'll try not to, since I wouldn't want my wife to worry her pretty little head." As he said this, he hooked a finger under her chin to make her look up, and kissed her on the lips. Pakura set the tray on his lap and slapped down a copy of _Rota Newsday_ for him to read. As expected, the coronation ceremony took up majority of the front page.

Much to Ash's amusement, someone got hold of Cynthia supposedly recovering from a hangover in the guest room Ash placed her in. It looked like someone found her and thought this would make for a good gossip story as well, having a regional Champion waste herself away during a prestigious event. He would have to send some flowers to whoever wrote the article. Of course, he'd send those flowers that would not spell love in terms of the flower language.

"I bet Queen Ilene is wondering why we didn't show up for breakfast." Ash said off-handedly, as he opened the newspaper to read under Pakura's watchful eye.

"She knows. She saw me making breakfast and the marks…" Pakura looked down at the love bites Ash left on her neck and proceeded to heal them, but Ash stopped her.

"No. Let the marks show. The others would know that you're mine." Ash stroked her bruises possessively. "Now, would you feed me?" He asked teasingly, holding the utensils out to her.

Pakura glared at him, but took the utensils and fed him as he read the paper. Ash mused that if he could wake up to this dazzling sight and a great breakfast like that every morning, Pakura making him read dull and boring newspapers from cover to cover to increase his knowledge of current affairs would be a small price to pay.

* * *

Rapping roused the other three members as Ash's voice called them to rise. "Come on guys, wake up!" He shouted. This made the three members wonder how the coronation ceremony went, considering Ash seemed to be in a good mood, judging by his tone. As they freshened themselves up, dressed and entered the dining room, Ash returned them their powers before returning to his room, giving Pakura, who was laying out their breakfast, a meaningful look. Pakura hastily followed him, but not before she passed Phillip the _Rota Newsday_ article.

"Anything good in there?" Akeno asked, as they settled down on their breakfast which was wonderful, thanks to Pakura.

"Well, at least we know how the coronation ceremony went." Phillip commented as he looked at the photo of a disguised Ash and Pakura dancing next to some huge chocolate cake. The design of the dessert was making him drool. However, he spotted a picture of Cynthia lying slumped on the chair, liquor bottles littered on the floor around her. "Looks like Cynthia got wasted."

"What?" The other two looked up. As answer, Phillip tapped the photo he was referring to that came with the article.

"I thought Cynthia doesn't actually drink. You know, to keep up her strong image and all." Jude looked at the picture, his brows furrowing.

"Perhaps the stress of being one would make her turn to it. Lots of famous people do." A voice said from behind him. Jude turned to see Elesa standing there, a smile on her face. "Is anyone sitting here?" She gestured towards the empty seat next to Jude.

"No." Akeno shook her head.

Elesa sat down next to Jude. "How come you didn't tell me you are going to have such an amazing breakfast?" Elesa was looking at the food on the table. "I know your food standards are already high, but this looks like they are on another level!"

"Well, actually our Leader cooked all these." Jude had a hand behind his head. "I never really mentioned it since she never really cooks anything for us unless there's a special occasion."

"Her coronation seems special enough." Elesa nodded, as she took a forkful of pancakes. Her eyes sparkled as she tasted how fluffy the pancakes were. "This is delectable!" Somewhat forgetting about her table manners, she started gorging herself on the food provided on the table. She also threw her plan of having breakfast with her fellow Gym Leaders out of the window.

"I thought Pakura was dating Red?" Elesa asked, seeing the others stare at her incredulously. "I mean Ash is the Crown Prince of Rota, not Red. Is she cheating on him?" At her remark, it's clear to the other three that she had read the article on _PAL Times._

"About that…" Jude hesitated. The other two nodded at him, indicating he should just tell her. "They are the same person. Ash's full name is Ashura Red Satoshi Ketchum."

"No way!" Elesa's eyes widened. "All this time you had this secret and you didn't tell me?"

"Elesa, Ash is technically a wanted criminal for killing his mother. His former friends, who are the real criminals did it and Cynthia didn't believe Ash. This is why we have to keep this a secret, so that Ash can continue his daily life at least until we get him a trial."

Phillip wrote something in his notebook, which Jude saw as a note to ask Pakura about the lawyer that will be defending Ash and can definitely get him an acquittal.

"No wonder Cynthia was practically frothing at the mouth in the ladies' room last week." Elesa mused. "Now I think of it, she probably didn't want Ash to have a trial."

"Bingo." Phillip pointed to her with a spoon. "You have one smart girlfriend there, Jude."

"Thank you, Phillip." Elesa flipped one of her braids to her back and drank her cup of Blood Orange Juice and marvelled at the wonderful taste. "Although, I really don't think Ash is the type to kill if he doesn't get his own way. I say the likely culprit would be that group, considering the girls always seemed to be scheming to get what they want and they believe money and fame would allow them to live the life they want. The little brother is obsessed with your Leader he'd do anything to get her. I mean, just the other day I saw him at one of the expensive jewellery shop looking at engagement rings saying he was going to propose when he wasn't even dating."

Jude, Akeno and Phillip looked at one another. It's lucky that Max of any of the traitors hadn't read the article yet as they would put two and two together. Then again, Ash probably pulled some strings to make sure that article doesn't go to the other regions for the time being, at least until he was found innocent.

"You can't tell them." Jude pleaded to his girlfriend.

Elesa had a sly grin on her face. She felt she deserved Jude making up to her after seeing Jude with Pakura, though she knew nothing happened and Ash had orchestrated it. "After breakfast, we are going shopping since it's time for a change in wardrobe. I figured I'd donate the clothes I don't want to the thrift store."

Jude seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, until Elesa also said she also wanted to check out the bridal boutiques.

"What for?" Jude practically threw up a lung, if such a thing was physically possible of course.

Elesa smiled. "Don't tell me you never thought of getting married."

Akeno and Phillip gave Jude knowing looks, figuring this meant that Elesa wanted to marry Jude in the foreseeable future and probably considered it ever since she read about Naoto's upcoming marriage to Ryoko and then the coronation ceremony. However, both of them agreed Elesa was thinking a little too far ahead.

"For me at this stage it's for me to date, such as going out to the movies and hand out and stuff. It's cool to discuss marriage as well, but not rush into it in the event that I don't like my wife." Jude answered Elesa.

"Don't worry Jude, I just want to see what kind of dress I would want to wear when I'm walking down the aisle." Elesa nodded in understanding. "The stores here are so high class."

"At least you are not being pressured into marriage by your family. My family thinks I'm practically an old maid at my age." Akeno laughed, knowing Elesa loved fashion, even in the wedding variety. "My family wants to set me up from someone from my village but I managed to persuade them to let me find a suitable husband of my own so I can live my life here. Take your time, Elesa. You found the one for you already, I can sense it."

"I'm going to be late for prep." Pakura sighed, as she opened the door, with Ash and their Pokémon on her heels. Elesa shot Ash a look and he nodded back, silently acknowledging that she knows about him. Both of them looked somewhat flushed and Pakura was tugging at the bottom of her shirt in an attempt to straighten it.

"We still can grab some lunch during your break, right?" They heard Ash ask her. Pakura mumbled something about having too many meals with him as the elevator doors closed.

"They behave like newlyweds." Elesa mused, before remembering the article on Ash being the Rota Crown Prince and how he needed to choose a wife before claiming his title. "Did they get married in a secret ceremony?"

"They signed the piece of paper, if that's what you mean." Jude replied without elaborating. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. "Do you want to go for a quick shopping trip now? Because I have the Pokémon Showcase to host and they are going through all the participants at once and the Pokémon Contest to host at night."

"Sure!" Elesa exclaimed, as they both headed for the elevators after bidding goodbye to Phillip and Akeno.

"Looks like we have to wash the dishes." Phillip shook his head, as Akeno shrugged.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the second half of the Theme Performance. Without further ado, let's welcome our judges, Kalos Queen Aria and PAL Duchess Pakura!" The audience clapped and cheered as they saw the two beautiful judges enter the stage.

Aria was wearing a predominantly light pink ballgown that had puffy sleeves and the hem of the pink silk was open in the middle to expose the white cloth underneath. She wore a necklace that had a tiara charm on it, the crown itself being decorated with some pink jewels. To complete the outfit, Aria wore a pink pearl bracelet with a watch in the middle along with a silver tiara with a heart formed in the middle, the outline of said heart being filled with little diamonds. Her hair was let loose, and her hair flowing as she walked towards the front of the stage made her look even more regal.

Pakura on the other hand was wearing an off one shoulder gradient colour evening dress that was mainly black which faded to dark blue at the bottom. The dark blue part of her dress was decorated with star-shaped sequins and there was some glitter on the black part of her dress. Aquamarine also chose to cut her bangs into a perfect level that is barely above her eyebrows and styled her hair into a bun plait hairstyle, which she decorated with a sapphire butterfly clip at the left side.

To complete her outfit, she wore a lovely moon galaxy necklace, which had the platinum designed crescent moon with a pendant that had the space colours on it. What was more, the colours seemed to be swirling, making it even more surreal. Pakura also wore a white gold blue topaz bracelet which was oval-cut with diamonds along with dark blue glittery heels.

'Beautiful…' Ash thought, looking at Pakura. He smiled, knowing he was the only one who saw everything behind the fashionable and (most of the time) expensive clothing and accessories she usually donned on. 'I'm glad she's mine.'

"Let's welcome the first Performers on stage, where they will be showing their ability to build rapport with other living species besides Pokémon." With that, three Performers were sent on stage along with a class of 4-year-old children who were wearing their childcare uniforms.

"Children from childcares around the region were invited and permission was already granted by the parents beforehand. The said parents are now seated among the audience. Please give them a round of applause to thank them!" As the audience clapped politely, Jude went on, "In this theme performance, Performers must attract the children to their side by any means necessary without using Pokémon moves on them. Therefore, they must rely on their charm and skills alone. Whoever has the most children at their side when the timer ends will move on to the Free Performance. Ready…GO!"

At Jude's command, the Performers started to try and attract children by putting up a show with their Pokémon, though the children merely started looking around. Eventually, they spotted Pakura and squealed as they rushed towards her for hugs and the Princess found herself being piled up by children as they showed affection towards her.

"Oh, what's this? It looks like the children are attracted towards our PAL Duchess Pakura!" Jude tried and failed to hide his amusement as the audience chuckled.

"Very funny, Jude." Pakura's voice came out from among the children. "Ok, children. I'll promise each of you a nice present if you would be good girls and boys and see which Performer appeals the most to you."

"Would we get to see a show from you?" A girl asked eagerly.

"Of course. I'll come pop by your childcare when I'm free and let all of you witness my latest performing ideas." Pakura answered sweetly. "Now, show the Performers why the future depends on you."

The children nodded, and turned to the Performers, allowing the Performers to try and get the children to their side.

'Nice job.' Ash sent a message towards her.

'I picked up a trick or two.' Pakura replied, as she opened her CommuniDex to Phillip, telling him to get some of her extra unopened Usuki dolls to give the girls and get the DIY model airplane set from the art store for the boys and make sure to get them in the boys' favourite colors. She also instructed him to wrap them all up and label with their names as well as she sent him the list of children and their favourite colours.

As an afterthought, she told him to get various snacks, sweets and chocolates to pack in a goodie bag for them as thanks for participating in the Pokémon Showcase. She could almost hear Phillip sigh as she was rather over the top with her gift-giving. Pakura mused she should get something for the parents as well, perhaps shopping vouchers or coupons that would guarantee something free from a store.

"And the winner of the first group of the first round is Blanche!" Jude announced, pointing to a girl with blue grey hair and light green eyes. The said girl bowed with her female Meowstic, as the children cheered for her.

The rest of the event went by in a blur as Pakura yawned since there were no Performers that made an actual impression as almost all of them used Pokémon to help them with their methods to attract the children. It wasn't as if they had the children run to them automatically like how the Rhyhorn were immediately attracted to Performer Serena during that one year in the Fleurrh Showcase or used their own skills outside of raising Pokémon.

'What a disappointment.' Pakura thought, as the audience started to leave for lunch. She looked around for Ash as she knew he wanted to grab lunch, but was intercepted by Aria.

"What is it, Aria?" Pakura asked her fellow judge.

"Pakura, you said you would go for lunch with me and my mentor sometime and I can't think of a better time than right now. I haven't seen you around in so long and we have to catch up." Aria looked like she genuinely missed her.

"Sounds like a good idea. Is it ok if I come with you girls?" Ash's voice said from behind her.

"Sure." Aria replied to Ash. "You can come. The more the merrier." The three walked towards a high-class restaurant near the Plaza Hotel, where Aria said that her mentor managed to book a VIP room for them to have lunch in private so that they would not be hounded by the press from other regions. When they reached the said room, Palermo was sitting there in her business suit waiting for them.

"So, you're the Performer Aria admires." Palermo said, looking Pakura up and down as she held out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same here." Pakura said formally. "Thank you for having me over for lunch." As she said this, the waiter came in with the starters, which was Thin Cut Cheese Fries, Lobster Soup and Mini Burgers (fish fillet and beef patty). The waiter poured some drinks for them, which he said was their restaurant's specialty. Everyone thanked him politely as he left them to enjoy their starters.

"I seem to remember you had taken the win over one of my students for the title of Kalos Queen." Palermo commented. "You seemed different from the other Kalos Queens that were crowned."

"While I agree that a good Kalos Queen should be able to make the people watching her smile and have the ability to motivate and inspire people, I am more down-to-earth when it comes to my aims since I know that it is impossible to make everyone smile from the bottom of their hearts." Pakura answered calmly. "When you have seen as much of the world as I did, you would know that you can't keep smiling through your hardships."

Aria looked at Pakura in surprise, as she wondered what Pakura had seen that made her the complete opposite of her and yet be a much more successful Performer than her.

"What is your goal then?" Palermo pressed. "Do enlighten me, PAL Duchess."

Pakura gave a wry smile. "I aim to make the audience feel the thrill I do when performing and allow them to be eager for more as to what moves my Pokémon and I would pull next, what I would do to help enhance my performance and what risks I would take to execute them with style and elegance and the end result of it. It had never failed to captivate them because I would usually think of my next performance and trained intensively from there."

"I see. You have never failed in your training, I presume?" Palermo noted Pakura had flawless skin and never had any scars from the intense training she claimed to have been through.

"Of course not." Ash spoke up, giving a laugh. Aria and Palermo looked up at his interruption. "Sorry, but if she can come out unscathed in hand-to-hand combat and weapon combat despite taking a few heavy hits herself during training, I don't see how she would be injured from a simple fall."

"You can fight?" Aria was surprised. Pakura had never brought her weaponry skills to her.

"Actually, all PAL Elites and Battle Leaders are required to be able to fight before they can assume the title." Pakura explained. "Our rank is also decided on our fighting skills. Our society is meritocratic in nature, you see. We believe that we don't become the Princess or Prince to be acknowledged by the people. The one who is acknowledged by the people becomes the Princess or Prince."

"You are a very wise young lady, Princess Pakura." Palermo said. "Just a curious thought, did you recently become the Princess?"

"No, I have been the Princess for slightly more than a decade now." Pakura said nonchalantly.

Palermo was startled. If Pakura was around 22 like she said, that meant she had to become a Princess at the mere age of 12, and was still defending her Kalos Queen title then! Just how much talent did the girl discover and develop for herself?

'Twelve?' Aria thought, as the waiter came back with Bleu Vampire Steak, Irish Stew and traditional Algerian couscous as the main course. 'I knew it. I'm a beginner compared to her.'

Pakura shifted the conversation to fashion as she felt that appearance also mattered when it comes to Pokémon Showcases, since it is the first impression the judges would have of a Performer. "I feel you might want to take some time off to relax and enjoy some sightseeing and maybe some shopping. There is a clothes brand called 'Jolie Fille' that is popular among businesswomen, since they do sell some professional looking business outfits. Aria can attest to the clothes sold in this region, since she practically bought a whole store last time we went shopping."

"That's not exactly new, is it?" Palermo asked dryly. "How many stores did you buy out this time?"

As answer, Pakura produced a very long receipt that was practically the length of the room, making Palermo shoot a look at Aria, who laughed sheepishly.

"Don't worry, she isn't in debt if that's what you're thinking. Paku paid for the clothes since she can do it without getting a dent in her bank account." Ash waved his hand.

"You're still indebted to her, Aria." Palermo looked at Aria with slight disapproval.

"Sorry, but those clothes were too cute not to buy!" Aria grinned. "I can't wait to show them off to my fans! Speaking of fans, there were rumours from them saying you two are dating. Is it true?"

Ash smiled. "Yes, in fact, both of us are engaged and we planned to marry at the end of the tournament."

"I would like to have an invite to the wedding. After all, a Performer marrying is something major in the Showcase world." Palermo looked at the couple with interest. "After all, everybody loves a wedding."

"Of course. I'll mail it once I get the invitation cards and finalize the guest list." Ash nodded, as he overheard Aria told Pakura about a café she wanted to go that does adorable latte art and expressed an interest to visit it with her sometime before the tournament ends.

'Why do I sense Phillip is calling for help in my head?' Pakura thought.

Meanwhile, Phillip suspected Jude gave Diantha his number, as she had reminded him about his promise and if he could meet up today, which was why he was here, waiting for Diantha at Aumění café. It was a place he recommended for her to meet due to the adorable latte art and he figured she might like those types of things. The good thing was he managed to heat up some of Pakura's leftover food as a promise to let her taste her cooking sometime.

Good thing the café owner doesn't really care if they brought food from outside in the strict condition that they must buy something from the café. He thought being nervous is rather insufferable as it was a sign of weakness and he's one of the stronger members of the PAL Elite, for Arceus' sake! If Jude can go through dates smoothly, then so can he, right?

Speaking of Jude, he had texted him through TalkTime many times, regarding advices on what to do during his dates with Diantha. Phillip sent a message back telling him it's not a date and just a friendly meeting, but Jude was having none of it. He was sure Diantha totally liked him and Phillip didn't see why, considering he didn't even know her that well. At least he was early so he got to have a seat of his choice, which was next to the window so if anything awkward happened he can pretend to enjoy the scene outside.

The doors to the café tinkled and he saw Diantha look around for him, looking pretty in an off one shoulder white top that had a few layers of frills to act as a sleeve with silver lining the first layer of the frill while the rest of them were white, along with double layer silver skirt. She was also carrying a designer handbag and wore silver platform shoes.

'Somebody, help me…' Phillip tried ducking behind the menu, but Diantha had seen the movement and smiled when she saw him. She waved as she approached the table.

'I'm dying now, goodbye.' Phillip thought.

'Nah, must be my imagination.' Pakura dismissed it inwardly, as she and Ash made their way to the Contest Hall for the Battle Rounds of the Interregional Contest. Unknown to them, they were being watched by a certain hospital patient with pink highlights and black eyes.

Rosaline gritted her teeth as she saw the couple walk past the hospital. She may have supported them of being together, but she did not expect it to happen at when she lost her position as an Elite member and at the cost of her Crime Hunter job.

'I'll show them…I'll show them why I was called the Fiery Phoenix.' Rosaline vowed, her right eye glowing orange as she stared at the two with hate.

* * *

 **BP: (Read below, it has a lot of content and they are important)**

 **I know, I have been out of action for a very long time, but believe me, juggling two jobs is no joke, especially when I have to rush to the other job after completing the first job, so I would be extremely tired once I come home. Also, one of my jobs required me to work on a Saturday so I only had one day of rest- Sunday. As I would be too tired from the work on those six days, I use Sunday to rest and chat with Core AI and N. Aepic Fael on story ideas and are actually writing stories with the both of them at the moment.**

 **Speaking of which, you should know I am writing with Core AI and I am sure you're surprised at the news that I am writing with N. Aepic Fael too. You can say the two of them are my best online friends at the moment since we kind of talked about other things besides story ideas such as our daily lives and telling one another about our day and sympathizing with each other on what other people do to us that we do not like and other times just goofing off and telling jokes or other funny things that happened to us or we had witnessed.**

 **On another note, I need to apologize to my readers about the second chapter of Two Legends, One Fate and for a lack of update in other stories. My computer had met the BSOD and I lost all my story files, meaning I would have to write the latest chapters of my stories all over again. In fact, I had to write this chapter all over again due to the BSOD. I actually cried when I lost my files and felt it was my fault why Two Legends, One Fate was not being updated quickly, since I was the one who was supposed to finish that chapter.**

 **Another problem cropped up in the fact that I also don't have access to my computer all the time. This is because my sister lost her computer to some malfunctioning part and she would end so I am forced to let her use it so she can finish her work.**

 **My priority at this moment is finishing PAL Chronicles and the Dark Chronicles. I would then try to move on to Heartsong Symphony, PAL Academy and possibly even Indigo High after finishing these two along with the Two Legends, One Fate with Core AI.**

 **However, I would also be helping N. Aepic Fael out with developing his characters and their backgrounds for our upcoming story, The Genesis Factor. I know, I got lots of work cut out for me, but I just love writing so much I can't bear not to have anything to write and I would help my friends out when I have time so they can write their stories too.**

 **Speaking of which, I wrote character shorts for all my Elites for that TGF story and the story trailer to make up for my absence. Next chapter would be Pakura's Character Short and the start of N. Aepic Fael's Elite trailers…or so I plan to. I'll consult him before I write them.**

* * *

 _ **TGF: Ash Character Short**_

" _ **I know peace can only last for so long. But I am willing to fight for as long as it takes to maintain it."**_

 **Late at night, a silhouette walked through the forest, having his head down as if to contemplate something. His Pikachu and Lucario bounded after him, looking determined as if in anticipation of what was about to happen. He looked down at the burning town down below him as he exited the forest. Ash looked up and nodded to his Pokémon as they all jumped, with Pikachu hitching a ride on his shoulder. He used telekinesis to slow himself down, before somersaulting, landing on his feet with Lucario. Ash then walked into the burning town, seeing criminals laughing as they set the houses on fire with their Fire-type Pokémon.**

" **Get them. After that, help the residents evacuate." Ash ordered Lucario and Pikachu, using mass telepathy to the survivors by telling them to evacuate via the North direction, which was where they were at the moment. He frowned as he knew some of the residents were already dead, thanks to the criminals. Pikachu and Lucario nodded, using Thunderbolt and Aura Sphere to one shot the Fire-type Pokémon from behind and Psychic to hit those Pokémon in the air. The criminals, seeing their fallen Pokémon, turned to look at their culprit, who remain poised and calm.**

" **What do you think you're doing?" A woman sneered. "Stay out of our business!"** T **hey all move to surround him**

" **Taking lives for the fun of it?" Ash asked, eyes still closed. "Let's see how you like it when I do it to you." His eyes narrowed and there's a beat before they open, a dangerous look in them.**

 **The gang readied their guns and began to shoot at Ash, but he merely took out his sword and selected something in the chamber of the sword, changing the blade's glow to light purple. When he blocked the bullets, it seemed to be blown back by the wind, stopping them short. Ash teleported to one of them, changes the blade glow to yellow, stabbing him straight through the heart and electrocuting him for good measure. The bandit gang reeled back in shock as their comrade fell to the wound and to the Electric Dust's effects. They tried to run, but Ash quickly summoned various Pokémon from runes on the ground to force them to face him.**

' **As the Chosen One, I will keep the balance and peace.' He thought, summoning another rune that propelled him forward at extreme speed, successfully cutting another's head off. He swiftly dodged the bullets with his agility, running towards another. The third had the foresight to switch to a knife, but he was ready for them. He blocked it with his bare hand, the blade not even piercing his skin and punched the person on the face, sending him some distance away.**

 **Ash dodged a few stoneworks, looking up and dodges out of the way as a gang member's Pokémon on the roof hurled pieces of broken buildings at him, but was quickly taken out by Lucario's Close Combat.**

 **Ash sent a slash, now with a light blue glow, towards the person, freezing him in place. Another tried to stab him from behind, but he had sensed them n kicked the knife away without even looking back and using telekinesis to finish off the person whose legs were frozen. Ash spotted Pikachu and Lucario, and grabbed Pikachu before he is about to be attacked by one of the gang members who have spotted them.**

" **Are the survivors safe?" Ash asked, and they nodded. "Good, buy me some time so we can end this quickly." Pikachu and Lucario held the numerous gang members off with a combination of Psychic and Electro Ball while Ash readied his next attack.**

 **As one of the female gang members fired a powerful beam through her laser gun, Ash caught it with his sword. As his sword glowed, the gang members converged towards him toward him. Ash then slashed out with his sword, disintegrating and decapitating all the members.**

 **As he walked out back to the burning town, Ash flew in the air and used telekinesis to supress the flames, and eventually they are put out. He frowned as it looked like they would have to rebuild the town again and the survivors are likely left homeless, judging by the damage done. Looks like he would have to relocate them at temporary apartments or hostels for now. He closed his eyes to mourn for the fallen, who never deserved to have their lives taken all for their sick sense of fun.**

 **Ash used his CommuniDex to contact Phillip.**

" **What is it, Ash?" Phillip asked.**

" **Give me the number of survivors, and get Paku to send the appropriate number of food packages and a small amount of money for compensation. Enough for one month of grieving." Ash ordered.**

" **Alright." Phillip agreed. "I'll get to it right away."**

' **Looks like I'll have to do a report on this mission.' Ash thought, closing the CommuniDex and calling for his Charizard to take him back to the Plateau. He smiled at the thought of calling up his pregnant wife after getting back to let her know he's fine. In the moonlight, the wedding ring on his left ring finger shone.**

* * *

 **TGF Trailer**

 _ **Note: The scenes are not always connected and is constantly changing.**_

" **This tournament is different. We have to defend our trophy. And all of them are coming to take it from us." Ash told his Elites. "Are we going to let them?"**

" **No!" Everyone, except Pakura said in unison. Somewhere, a train was headed for the PAL Region.**

* * *

" **Who are these people?" Jude asked, as all of them were watching the TV in the Battle Tower.**

" **They're us. If we were older, more militaristic, fought in a civil war and built our region from scratch instead of joining when it's already established and filling our days with various activities when we're not on active duty." Pakura replied, as a group of silhouettes exited the train into the station.**

* * *

" **Genesis…means the origin of something. How fitting." Ash commented.**

* * *

" **Who did they think they are, undermining us just like that just because our region is five years old!" A boy with black hair and grey eyes fumed, a letter crumpled in his fist. "How can they just deem our members as illegitimate!"**

* * *

" **You have no idea how much they try to beat us down ever since we separated from Kalos." A woman with blonde brown hair in a ponytail and blue eyes told Ash. In a scene, the same woman frowned as she saw the jeering faces of the public.**

* * *

" **If both of us were not so different, why did we end up with opposite values?" The military commander asked, as a scene with Pakura straddling him was shown, her eyes changing to red as she repeatedly punched him in the face, causing him to cough out blood.**

" **That's because there are still differences between the tragedies you and her been through." A Hispanic looking boy told him. Meanwhile, Pakura was walking up to Shiki's frozen body with an expressionless face.**

* * *

" **I don't need a family." Pakura told the blonde brown-haired woman.**

" **On the contrary, you do." The woman replied, as the woman fought through countless soldiers with just her gauntlets. A curly haired man shot down a soldier about to attack the woman from behind, as she smiled at him gratefully. "I will make you see the importance of family soon enough, dear."**

* * *

" **I think you'll find out that butting into other people's business is kind of our jobs." The dirty blonde-haired man said to Jude.**

* * *

 **Somewhere, a naked Pakura gasped as a bleeding arm made their way into her mouth, causing her to glow gold for a brief second.**

* * *

" **They utilize forbidden magic to fight, relying less on aura abilities." Phillip whispered, as a somewhat attractive man in a doctor's coat and glasses searched through various books on forbidden arts. "I heard they lost their previous Champion as a result."**

* * *

" **They would do whatever it takes to protect each other." Ash was touching his wife's flat belly. "Because that's all they have." A rubble lifted to reveal Pakura, her face changing into slight apprehension when she saw what's underneath it.**

* * *

" **They could be our best friends…" Ash said. Jude was laughing with a white-haired boy with green eyes.**

" **Or our worst enemies." He continued, as a scene of Shiki fighting the grey-eyed and black-haired boy was shown.**

* * *

" **The power that Genesis Champion was emitting…it can potentially be greater than my own Chosen powers…just who is she?" Ash wondered. In another scene, Ash was down on the ground, gasping as a woman with dead silver eyes and long black hair stood over him with a smirk on her face.**

* * *

" **We'll have to watch the matches carefully and observe the competition…especially them." Ash told his Elites, as a Charizard was defeated by a Mega Steelix using** **Gyro Ball** **. "Remember, the defending of the trophy is a team effort."**

 **This year, the tournament is going to change things once more.**

 **The Genesis Factor: Coming Soon**

* * *

 **Don't know what I'm writing at this point, since I promised N. Aepic Fael I'd write the TGF trailer and his Elites trailer in my next chapters of AV (in my Author's Notes), and my promises to him are important. Oh well, I hope he likes it.**

 **To be honest, I wanted to publish this chapter alongside my PAL Chronicles, but when I realized the last update date, I decided to post this first so that you'll all know I'm not dead and I have not forgotten about this story.**

 **Due to my long absence from Fanfiction, I might not be making sense on my story plot in this chapter. I think I'll have to reread my chapters to get an idea of what happened and then either rewrite this chapter or start planning the next chapter. I think I'll start writing the chapters again from next Wednesday onwards and set a fixed amount of words for each day I'm free or something. That way, I might be able to post faster.**

 **Anyway, do review, favourite and follow!**


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